The Stag
by rainbowwriters
Summary: Set approximately three weeks after episode 2:22. Lauren has spent the last five years being enslaved, tricked and used by the Ash but that's over now right? Wrong. NB This is not the continuation of our Faethful series, just a short distraction.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren - Set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter One** by The Rainbowwriters

It had been three weeks since the victory over the Garuda and life had been slightly crazy for Bo, with what had seemed like an endless stream of meetings with various fae elders, both light and dark, that usually followed a similar pattern. Words of praise and then subtle offers of what could be given in return for allegiance. It had become so farcical that Kenzi had drawn up a chart that was stuck to the front of the fridge separated into light fae and dark fae. It listed the offers each had so far given in return for allegiance, separated by side and by clan. There was everything on the list; houses and land, slaves, expense accounts, cosmetic surgery, cars, even a pony, well actually an entire ranch. In Kenzi's eyes the light was winning, though only mainly because the majority of their offers didn't involve human slaves.

When Bo wasn't being wooed by high powered fae she was trying to spend time with Trick. The Blood King seemed genuinely touched by his granddaughter's efforts, though if they were both honest in terms of actual time spent together it hadn't actually amounted to much. The other person who Bo hadn't seen as much of as she had wanted to was Lauren, in fact she hadn't really seen the blonde at all. Just for a few hours at the Dal when they had happened to cross paths. A couple of times the succubus had lamented to Kenzi about it, who had just turned around and told her to call her or just go over, but when Bo had tried the doctor had either been out, or her phone had been busy.

Finally late on a Thursday afternoon the hectic chaos of post Garuda pandemonium seemed to calm and Bo found herself able to just flop onto the couch at the club house with no sense of urgency. She had no where to be, nothing in her day planner – another sheet of paper on the fridge that Kenzi updated as needed, and no jobs to be doing. Putting her feet up, she sighed hard and rubbed at her hair letting her body relax.

"Ugh Kenz, if they'd told me that this is what happens to Champions after the fact, I might just have turned down the job." She groaned as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"Oh come on." Kenzi bounced past her best friend going to the kitchen. "It's great, you're like favourite Fae number one, are you tempted by anything yet?" She asked taking lollipop from a bowl of them on the counter. She pulled the wrapper off the orange candy and stuck it in her mouth. "The ten bedroom house, with swimming pool, Maserati and clan affiliation sounds rather fun." She teased as she stared at the list on the fridge.

"Not helping." Bo opened her eyes and sat forward slightly. "I'm not picking a side no matter what they offer me, I'm not for sale." She summed up.

"I never said you were, but come on some of these offers are pretty cool." Kenzi countered.

Bo was about to underline again that she wasn't interested in any 'offer' when there came a hard knock on the club house door and without waiting for permission the door was flung open and Dyson strode in. His whole body was filled with tension and thinly veiled anger. Bo pushed up off the couch instantly, a frown coming to her face and Kenzi pulled the sucker out of her mouth coming around out of the kitchen area to look at him as he stood in the main area with his intense scowl.

"We have a problem." He said his voice a low growl. "A big problem." He underlined.

"What kind of a problem." Bo felt herself beginning to tense, just something about the way Dyson had come in, something about his body language and his tone had instantly put her on the alert.

"A serious one." He summed up again.

"We got that D-man." Kenzi pointed out that that indeed was the only detail they had indeed got from his entrance, sticking the candy dramatically back in her mouth.

"Your presence is requested at the compound tonight." He looked at Bo his breathing tense.

"The compound?" Bo's frown deepened, being summoned to the compound usually didn't mean good news for her.

"For the Gala." Dyson's jaw locked as he said the word his eyes turning to look directly at the succubus.

"The Gala? They've chosen the candidates who will stand for The Ash-dom?" Bo glanced at Kenzi wondering if she had any better idea of what could be going on.

"Yes, the Gala is tonight, the hunt tomorrow beginning at Dawn." Dyson replied flexing his hand at his side absently.

"Wow, they're rushing this one." Kenzi shook her head as she spoke around the stick.

"That's not the point." Dyson flashed the younger woman a rare glare of anger.

"Then what is?" Bo asked of the wolf not understanding why he was so very on edge and seemingly reluctant to tell her what was going on.

"The stag." Dyson breathed out flexing his jaw muscle as he turned to looking from Kenzi to Bo.

"What poor fae have they dragged out of the catacombs this time?" Kenzi rolled her eyes as she came over to perch on the arm of the couch.

"They haven't." Dyson breathed a little deeper, his eyes fixed on Bo. "They've chosen Lauren."

"Lauren." The blonde's name came off Bo's mouth embodying all her panic and concern instantly.

"She was taken into custody two weeks ago." Dyson replied with a nod.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Bo stared at him in disbelief. "What in the hell have they convicted her of? I thought the stag had to be a convict."

"I didn't know Bo." Dyson objected instantly having anticipated this question. "No one did. I found out today and looked into it. And you're right the stag can only be a convicted prisoner, but she's been convicted, of treason and aiding an enemy of the fae which resulted in the death of The Ash."

"Come again?" Kenzi piped up from her spot, actually almost as shocked as Bo was. She knew that humans weren't exactly valued in the compound but the Doctor seemed like she had the 'skills' to make her an exception.

"Apparently one of Lachlan's bodyguards filed a report that he witnessed the Doctor draining the Naga venom from the Ash, and then moments later the Garuda attacked the compound and killed Lachlan who had been rendered helpless because of the doctors actions." Dyson gave them the run down of her conviction.

"But that's not what happened. The Ash ordered her to drain his venom, no one expected the Garuda to go directly to attack Lachlan." Bo disagreed with the time line of events. "When was this kangaroo court held anyway? Didn't anyone want those of us who were there to tell them what happened?"

"No one else was there when she did what she did, so no one else was required to be called." Dyson shook his head. "I've read the hearing documents."

"Maybe not but the context of what you just said is wrong, Lauren didn't take the venom to help the Garuda. She did it so we could beat the Garuda, even the Ash knew that." Bo could feel a deep sense of rage and anger filling her whole being, and she turned away as if thinking afraid that her eyes would be sparkling as they seemed to do a lot lately when she experienced extreme emotion.

"The hearing doesn't take into consideration context and Lachlan isn't here to say what his plan was, what he intended the doctor to do with the venom." Dyson pointed out. "Not that that matters because the matter is closed, Lauren has been found guilty." He breathed out let his shoulders drop slightly. "She is to be the Stag in the Hunt tomorrow."

"So..." Kenzi moved around to where Bo was sensing how much of an overload these facts must be causing in the brunette. "We need a plan like last time, the stag has to live and be free."

"The stag only lived last time because of Lauren." Dyson pointed out somewhat unnecessarily.

"This is ridiculous, I'm going to get Lauren back right now." Bo didn't even realize her voice held an echo as she began to move towards the door.

"Bo! Bo wait." It was Kenzi that called after her best friend. "Look at me, look at me!" She ordered, a chill having entered her blood as she heard the tone of the succubus voice.

"Kenzi, this is Lauren you know I can't just let them hunt her." Bo did turn to look at her best friend, her back to Dyson. Just as the younger woman had suspected her eyes were glowing blue.

"I know, I'm coming with you." Kenzi explained knowing that she had to do something to at least quell Bo's anger as she let her go out the door finally. "D-man, go tell Trick what's going on, get to work on a back up plan." She gave him a look that said 'don't try and stop us'. The wolf made an initial move that suggested he might try to follow, but when Kenzi kept her blue eyes on him for a moment longer he hesitated. Kenzi breathed out and nodded at him before running out after Bo. "Bo... Bo-Bo hold up there." She called as she ran out of the club house trying to catch up with the succubus who was already nearly at their car.

"Two weeks I've been doing nothing, while they did..." Bo's brain started to stall and she took a slow breath in that seemed to make her eyes glow brighter. "Things to her Kenzi." She pulled open the door of the driver's side.

"You didn't know Bo." Kenzi leaned against the car. "You think you can calm down for me?" She added trying to catch her best friend's attention.

"Damn it, I'm doing it aren't I?" Bo finally dropped into the driver's seat but didn't make any move to start the car, taking a few breaths as Kenzi got into her seat. "It just... creeps up on me so fast." She made the gentle admission. "I can't stop thinking about how she must think I deserted her, left her for them to destroy."

"The Doc doesn't work like that." Kenzi shook her head, a part of her praying that it was true. "Though for the record, when we get her out of this, will you two please talk to each other and decide on some kind of permanent thing, relationship, label, something, because really, this..." She waved her hand around a little. "This doesn't work." She smiled at her friend. "You're crazy about her." She smiled more. "You're even crazier without her." She reached over and lightly punched Bo's shoulder. "So, are we really going to raid the compound kamikaze style?" She added with a smile.

"No, I don't think it should be my first choice." Bo put her hands on the steering wheel and tried to calm herself down enough to really think. "I think you were right." She turned her head to look at Kenzi. "Fundamentally we need to get Lauren to that bell, so she wins and she's free from them. They can't touch her if she gets to that bell first."

"That's right, she rings that, all her 'crimes' are written off, and she's as free as a free bird." Kenzi nodded. "So do I go hit the stores for hunting camo in size 'hotpants'?"

"Lauren is a doctor, not a master woodsman." Bo shook her head. "As a start we need to find something or someone that can help her reach that bell faster."

"We need a hobbit cloak, or Mr. Potter's cloak of invisibility." Kenzi laughed but then stopped as she looked at Bo. "You don't think that something like that actually exists do you?"

"If anyone knows it's Trick." Bo finally put the key into the car and started it, pulling out of the gravel driveway fast enough to spit chunks of rock everywhere.

-x-

Walking up to the bar in the Dal, Bo was too focused to notice the exchange of looks between Dyson and Kenzi. The wolf clearly thankful the younger woman had convinced Bo away from her attack mission.

"I've been thinking, the only way to win this with minimal casualties at the compound is to have Lauren ring the bell in the hunt." Bo began to outline what her brain had been mulling over the entire way. "I need everyone to think of any item or fae that can help us to that goal. Magic cloaks that will make her invisible, strange mixtures that will make her super fast, anything."

"What you are suggesting is interfering with an ancient fae tradition Bo." Trick's voice was filled with warning.

"I did it last time and that wasn't even Lauren." Bo's tone was stronger then it should have been, especially considering who she was speaking too. "An Ash can still be picked, but Lauren goes free."

"Technically no." Trick shook his head. "If the stag strikes the bell none of the candidates are seen as worthy of being the Ash and the whole thing has to be repeated with different candidates and a different stag." He pointed out. "It only stood last time because technically Lachlan struck the stag before she hit the bell. Lauren brought her back to life."

"We don't have Lauren so we need to think broader." Bo understood what he was saying but she knew none of them truly comprehended, except for maybe Kenzi, what this meant. "I'm sure there has to be one actually evil guy in the catacombs they can have as the stag for the next round."

"There are more than a few candidates that fit the bill." Dyson agreed with Bo's assessment. "It's actually more of a problem finding fae to be the Ash." He pointed out.

"Like we really care." Kenzi countered. "They'll find someone." She rolled her eyes and looked at Trick. "So come on, any invisible cloaks? Or super sneakers?" She asked eagerly.

"Not that I have on hand." He shook his head.

"Then we need to start researching, there has to be some magic, something we can use." Bo refused to believe there wasn't an answer. After all this was Lauren, and if they couldn't come up with anything else then she was going to have to unleash her inner rage succubus and kick some ass. Of course the consequences of that would be world changing.

-x-

Kenzi had grown bored of looking through book after old book and she had taken to just wandering around the back room of the Dal poking at things that Trick had long since labelled 'untouchable' and generally trying to find something to take her mind of her ever distracting arm. Thankfully she had discovered that it was made less distracting with a couple of painkillers twice a day and an antihistamine first thing in the morning. Picking up a small black cat figurine off the top of the mantle suddenly Kenzi stopped.

"I've got it." She announced at she whirled around with the small pottery cat in her hand.

Bo's head turned away from the book she was reading to look at her roommate curiously. Trick of course was still out front at the bar, and Dyson also looked up from the ancient tome he had cradled in his lap on the small settee.

"Witch, we need a witch." She announced walking over to where Bo was sitting she put the little black cat on top of the pile of books.

"For?" Bo picked up the figurine not yet understanding.

"Okay when I was a little girl there were all these stories from the old times, about witches who could curse people and heal people and steal babies and all that good stuff but..." She paused when she saw Dyson arch his eyebrow wondering just what on earth she was talking about. "I remember asking why no one ever caught the witches and everyone used to say it was because they knew the Flim flam, or fif faff or something like that."

"The Fith-Fath." Dyson injected much more seriously closing his book.

"That's it." Kenzi agreed with a nod. "Anyway apparently it's this spell that made them invisible, well no it turned them into something else, like a fox, or a deer or a rabbit or something, and they just ran or hopped away if anyone ever came after them." The blue eyed sidekick grinned brightly. "We just need to find an ancient witch who can teach Lauren the flip-flop."

"The Fith-Fath cannot be taught." Dyson put the book to the side and stood up. "But you are partially right Kenzi, if we can locate a powerful enough witch she may be able to create a amulet for us that would turn Lauren into an animal allowing her to move through the forest faster. It would give her a chance." He looked at Bo. "Unfortunately finding a witch who is capable..."

"Yeah score one for the sexy human sidekick." Kenzi clapped her hands together and did a little dance, ignoring Dyson's gloomy outlook.

"I'm going to go ask Trick, if anyone knows of a witch who might help us it's him." Bo stood up moving over to kiss Kenzi's cheek. "Huge score." She smiled at her and hurried up into the bar.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Two** by The Rainbowwriters

The Succubus hadn't liked anything about this from the moment she'd parked her car in the dark back lot that led to the even darker alley they were now walking down. Their only guide had been a small metal sign on the wall at the front of the alley, it read 'The Triple Moon Emporium'.

This was the location Trick had given the pair to begin their quest to find a shape shifting talisman in the short few hours before the Gala. Bo knew the elaborate party was going to be her best opportunity to talk to Lauren and advise her of the plan, advise her that they were not going to let anything happen to her. In the back of her mind she also constantly mulled over what Kenzi had said, it was time to make a decision about Lauren and her feelings for the blonde. It was time to stop being afraid.

"Would a witch really call herself Hazel?" Bo questioned her roommate as they moved down the alley with Bo on point. It was just wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side. "I mean witch, Hazel... isn't there a rule?"

"There should be, just like there should be a rule that all alley ways should be lit by nice bright light and should not be used as public urinals." Kenzi groaned and picked her way carefully down the narrow walkway, screwing up her nose at the smell.

"If I was mayor I would make that a law." Bo acknowledged as she stopped at a set off stairs up to a black painted door with what she knew was the triple moon pattern. "I think we found it." She jumped almost anxiously up the steps and reached for the doorknob, pushing in the door a series of chimes sounded.

The interior wasn't particularly better lit than outside, but at least it smelled considerably better. There were candles set sporadically around, their flames flicking as Bo and Kenzi opened the door and slipped inside letting the door close behind them. The shop was filled with shelves of merchandise, the space of the shop clearly much larger then the storefront would suggest. With everything from candles to books, herbs to cauldrons it was clearly a one stop shop for all things witch. There was a large section dedicated to jewelry and what looked like from where Bo stood weapons, the candle lit glimmering off metal blades and dagger hilts in a far back corner.

"Wow." Kenzi automatically began wandering off towards a large display of incense as Bo just took a few hesitant steps forward.

"Don't steal anything." Bo hissed at her under her breath.

Surprisingly a middle aged woman with waist long white blonde hair came around the corner from somewhere Bo wasn't sure had existed. Her long flowing green robes were light and layered one piece upon the other in a pattern the Succubus wasn't sure could be replicated.

"Stealing anything from a witch brings a very serious karmic backlash. It is better to simply ask." As her face came to look fully at Bo and Kenzi, the Succubus was struck by her piercing blue eyes and full lips.

"Good to know." Kenzi backed up a little to Bo as she looked at the blonde smiling a little nervously. "Are you Hazel?" She added slightly surprised that Bo hadn't actually said anything yet.

Bo for the most part had found herself literally stunned. The sudden presence of the woman had been joined with a powerful aura. Usually Bo could read people energy, particularly their sexual energy but the witch before her was encircled by a white bubble of the purest energy. One that gave Bo no indication of any of the emotions she could usually read.

"I'm Bo, this is Kenzi." She finally spoke before the witch could answer the question. "Trick said you might be able to help us."

"The unaligned succubus, the Garuda slayer." The blonde smiled more and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. "How could I help you?" She asked tipping her head slightly.

"Lauren." Bo said the doctor's name almost stupidly. "She has been found guilty of crimes she didn't commit and is now going to be used as the stag in the choosing of the Ash. I need to save her, she has to be able to ring the bell and be free." She could feel Kenzi right beside her shoulder. "I need a Fith-Fath amulet so she can beat the hunters."

"Oh." Hazel's smile turned into more of a smirk. "Some one has suggested to you that the power of the Fith-Fath spell can be harnessed into a charm that can be worn around the neck enabling a mere human to have the gift of a devote fae?" She laughed softly. "Someone has been listening to a little too many stories."

"But stories have truth in them, I've met Baba Yaga." Kenzi challenged softly.

"Yes." Hazel stepped forward and looked at Kenzi for a long moment. "That is not all you have done, is it?" She held the younger woman's blue eyes for a moment.

Kenzi's eyes flicked from Bo to her arm and she gave a soft shake of her head. Not sure why having only met this woman for less than a minute she would do anything for her, but her instinct told her that if the witch could sense her little 'problem' then she must have power and people with power sometimes understood the need for secrets. After all could a rash be that obvious?'

"I can give you an amulet, but you need one with power to recite the incantation when you want it to take hold. The amulet is the battery that will keep the illusion in place for a time." Hazel turned a little and moved towards the large glass cabinets near the back of the store. "Do you have someone with such power?"

"What kind of power? I mean..." Bo made a motion with her hand. "I have power."

"But do you know magic?" The blonde glanced back towards them both as she continued towards the cabinet.

"No... would Trick count?" Bo volunteered the next name she could think of with magical power.

"Fitspatrick McCorrigan?" A light titter of laughter came from the blonde's mouth, "The Blood King is no Witch." She summed up shaking her head. "And his presence in the sacred hunting wood would cast suspicion on the proceedings."

"Can we sneak you in? Say that Lauren is a Wicca and you're like her priest for the dead woman walking." Kenzi piped in.

Again the light laughter filled the store.

"I am no Wicca." Hazel shook her head. "And there are none there who would not know me." She added as she looked at Kenzi. "Come here." She pointed at her.

Kenzi did a double take to Bo and then very cautiously moved forward to where the blonde was.

"How did you come to meet Baba Yaga?" The blonde asked fixing their blue eyes together.

"I... I did the spell to help Bo, well what I thought was help." Kenzi threw her hand vaguely towards Bo.

"It was a pain getting her back." Bo put forward with a loving smile to Kenzi.

"I can only imagine." Hazel seemed almost mildly impressed, taking a key from around her neck the blonde then unlocked the large glass jewelry case opening one side of it. "What did she say to you? Did she mention perhaps that you had met before?"

"She did, she implied she'd been watching me." Kenzi's eyes widened at the woman who seemed to be able to read their thoughts.

A soft smile danced on Hazel's lips as she reached into the cabinet and instead of coming out with a pendant as they both expected, instead came out with a large curved blade which she turned towards Kenzi with.

"Whoa." Bo reacted immediately putting her hands up and moving towards Kenzi. "You don't need a weapon, we just came to ask about the amulet."

"Actually it's a boline," Hazel smiled at Bo. "And I do need it." She added, "As I'm not exactly sure which of that..." She paused and pointed towards Kenzi's hair, "Is actually yours, would you be so kind as to cut me a lock?" She held the curved blade towards the younger woman.

Kenzi eyeballed her for a moment and then saw Bo give a nod. She took the handle of the bowline, and reaching up into the back of her hair pulled a long strand forward and cut off a small lock. She held it out to the blonde.

"Thank you." Hazel took it and then moved off around behind the small counter to where there was a small altar set up, that Bo and Kenzi hadn't noticed before. Placing Kenzi's hair in a small silver dish Hazel added a pinch of herbs from three small jars from a table off to the side of the small set up and then with a short whispered incantation the whole thing erupted in a bright blue flame spontaneously. "As I suspected." She said turning to face Bo and Kenzi with a smile. "You have witch blood."

"I have what?" Kenzi looked at Hazel in complete disbelief. "Look I'm not sure what burning my hair told you but, I'm not magical. I'm a klepto, not magical." She looked at Bo for confirmation.

"Kenzi is just a human." Bo underlined, thought the display had made her very uneasy.

"Yes she is, but only because of a decision, generations ago to become so." Hazel slipped back around the counter. "Not by you dear." She added smiling at the confusion on Kenzi's face. "A long forgotten descendent." She added absently. "There is ancient witch blood flowing in your veins, which believe me, for what you want to do, is a good thing."

"Okay, so Kenzi can do the incantation?" Bo tried to get to a point that gave an answer instead of more questions. Though it did completely confuse her as to how Kenzi could be a witch.

"No." Hazel shook her head.

"So all of this was just to make Kenzi freak out?" The Succubus actually felt her displeasure rising. They didn't have time for games, even of the magical kind.

"She doesn't know does she?" Hazel turned her attention to Kenzi alone, her striking blue eyes narrowing slightly.

Kenzi didn't immediately answer the question, she just turned and put her hands on Bo's shoulders backing the Succubus up a bit. She stayed close to speak quietly to her.

"Clearly this Sabrina wants to play word games and thinks I'm some ancient witch blood, why don't you go to the car and I'll get everything we can from her. I promise." Kenzi urged her best friend, knowing that this witch knew too much about her, things that she didn't want Bo to be distracted by yet.

"I'm missing something, what am I missing?" Bo looked between Kenzi and the blonde who had turned away and was poking around inside the cabinet.

"Nothing." Kenzi shook her head. "Because right now our main concern is keeping Lauren from being the next Ash's first trophy." She reminded her best friend. "Hear me, I'm going to work this witch over and get what we need." She smiled at her best friend. "Sometimes they just don't feel the effect of your great cleavage." She purposely poked one swell of breast like you would a balloon.

The move was enough to break Bo's tension, as the succubus blinked and took a deep breath.

"I'm not leaving but I'll back off." She gave in a little. "I'll be by the books." She turned and walked over to the large wall display a good distance away.

Kenzi made a snort of discontent and then made her way back to the blonde witch.

"No, she doesn't know. Other things have been more important." Kenzi hissed the answer finally to Hazel's question. "Do you know what it is?" She subconsciously put her hand over her coat where the rash was on her other forearm.

"Of course I do." Hazel replied with a nod. "And I can help you."

"What is it? What is it going to do to me?" Kenzi asked the important questions.

"That's not what I expected you to say, I expected a 'stop it, stop it now, take it away." She chuckled softly.

"Whatever it is I got it to help a friend, and well that friend..." She looked over to Bo. "Is my best friend and that Lauren we're talking about is the woman she's in love with. Worrying about me isn't an issue until this hunt is over. Though, how hard it is it fix?"

"Well you see here in lies the problem." Hazel took a small breath. "To fix that." She extended her look to Bo. "You won't ever fix that." She glanced at Kenzi's arm.

"I don't understand, really even if I have witch blood the double speak eludes me." Kenzi admitted wanting the answers to be clearer.

"There is no fix, there is nothing to fix, there is nothing 'wrong', only that you are turning into what you should be." Hazel replied softly. "I don't know how or when, but somehow you came into contact with ancient witch blood, and when you did..." She paused. "It awoke that which slumbered in your veins." She kept her voice quiet and made sure to keep her face turned so that Bo could not see it. "You are becoming what your ancestors were."

"This is me turning into a witch." Also out of Bo's view, Kenzi pulled up her sleeve to show orange acidic like burns in her flesh.

"Unfortunately yes, this is the shift in your DNA, in your genetic make-up." Hazel frowned slightly. "I'm sorry it is probably painful." She noted the fact easily. "Which is why I can offer something that will help both you and your friend and this Lauren."

"What can you offer?" Kenzi asked covering her arm up again wanting it to disappear, especially now that apparently she was turning into something, something she wasn't keen to turn into.

"I can speed the transition, so that you by pass this pain and discomfort, condense it so that it passes very swiftly, so that you become that which you are turning into in a faction of the time. Giving you the power to be the spellcaster who can perform the incantation that will give Lauren the animal form that may allow her to win against those who would be Ash."

"Wow, all this suddenly got real heavy." Kenzi felt a little sparkly as she looked at the blonde woman. "What is it you'd do to me?" Her voice was almost childlike.

"Essentially I would subdue your human defences and let the witch blood take over, adding my power to it to make its take over fast and complete." The witch's recap of what would happen came fast and quickly. "It would be painful and there would be no going back."

"What do I owe you for doing this?" Kenzi folded her arms across her chest.

"Owe me?" A frown danced on Hazel's brow. "You wouldn't owe me anything." She shook her head. "Far from it in fact." She added some what cryptically.

"And we can do this in time for me to help Lauren?" Kenzi asked the all important question.

"Yes. I can restore you to what your ancestors once were by the witching hour, then I can teach you the incantation necessary to save Lauren. You would have the time to get to the sacred hunting grounds before dawn." Hazel laid out a time line of events. "But Kenzi, you must understand what it is I am suggesting." She looked at the younger woman seriously, for the first time her face showing discomfort and concern.

"You're telling me I'm either painfully and slowly going to turn into a witch because of some goo that got splashed on me as a gift from a big tree, or I painfully and quickly turn into a witch for the same reason and I'm able to save Lauren." Kenzi felt a cold knot in her stomach. "Seems I'm screwed either way. Dyson had better be thankful for what I did." She commented to herself absently.

"You were contaminated from blood taken from a Norn?" For the first time a flash of something a kin to fear spread across Hazel's face.

"I chainsawed her tree to get a wolf friend's ability to love back." Kenzi tried to explain even while her own mind raced. "When I was getting his vial, one fell off a shelf and splashed me, the Norn said it was a gift."

The blonde may have been going to say something else but she stopped herself and looked at Kenzi.

"I'm not just talking about becoming someone who likes black cats and looks good in black Kenzi." Hazel looked at the younger blue eyed girl and took a breath. "I'm talking about taking your humanity."

Kenzi let out a long noisy breath, not really prepared to comprehend such a dramatic reality.

"Can you get things ready while I talk to Bo-Bo?" She motioned to where Bo was anxiously trying to eavesdrop or at least figure out something from their body language.

"I can." Hazel gave a soft nod, knowing the young woman had no hope of comprehending the reality of what was happening to her.

"You promise on all that is holy for you, like the moon and such, that you're telling me the truth? There is no way to take this away, it's either slow and painful or quick and painful?" Kenzi narrowed her eyes at her.

"There is no way I know of." Hazel replied carefully. "You are turning into a witch."

Kenzi gave her a nod and then moved back towards Bo, she linked her arm into Bo's and moved her towards the door to the alleyway. Without saying it the Succubus knew immediately that Kenzi needed to talk to her, but for reasons she didn't understand her whole body went cold with fear.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Three **by The Rainbowwriters

Kenzi had probably paced across the sticky pavement in front of the Triple Moon a half dozen times before Bo's look made her stop.

"Okay Bo, I need you to understand right now that I have a lot to tell you, and I know you're going to be mad about some of it, and some of it will make you super mad but what is going to happen is going to happen apparently, and it might as well happen in a way that helps Lauren." Kenzi looked at her best friend with intense emotion. "And what I said in the car double applies, you sort this shit with Lauren okay? Stop being afraid of telling her how you feel, stop being afraid of being a succubus she knows what you are, she understands more than anyone. Well except maybe me but I'm Kenzi." She gave a soft smile.

"Kenz?" Bo frowned at her best friend, listening but still far away from understanding. "What are you talking about? What did she say to you?" The brunette looked past her best friend to the stairwell again feeling anger creep into her stomach. "What is going to happen, nothing is going to happen that I can stop from happening."

"You can't stop this from happening." Kenzi shook her head as she pulled off her jacket and then pulled up her sleeve to show Bo her arm.

"What?" Bo lunged forward and took Kenzi's arm carefully. She slowly looked over the deep acidic burns, the once perfect pale skin bright orange in patches and spidery lines. "Did she do this?"

"No. It happened because I attacked the Norn's tree with a chainsaw and got Dyson back his mojo so he would be whole to help you fight the Garuda." Kenzi filled in the facts that Bo didn't know. "While I was there another jar got broken, it splashed on my arm, and Hazel the good witch in there just explained what it is. It's witch blood, and it's reacting with my system and I'm becoming a witch."

"You did what?" Bo felt her hand shake a little as she cradled Kenzi's arm. "You attacked the Norn, to get Dyson's... Dyson has his love back?" She felt derailed again her eyes literally losing their focus for a minute, making her blink them back into focus. "You got yourself hurt getting his love back from the Norn." She summed up again for herself. "And now this blood is changing you?" She frowned hard. "I don't understand." She admitted shaking her head, "Changing you how, I mean changing you inside?" The succubus sounded as confused and frightened as she was, her fingers running over the bumpy sensitive skin.

"I don't understand that bit exactly, Hazel suggested it was something to do with me having had a witch ancestor or something." Kenzi shrugged not wanting to even try to explain what she didn't understand. "More importantly, if she helps me turn quicker I can do the incantation to help Lauren."

"Turn quicker? No, this is stopped, this is stopped now, turned back and we make you better." Bo shook her head rapidly and let Kenzi's arm go softly reaching into her pocket for her cell phone with the other hand.

"Bo, I'm not saying don't check with Trick but..." Kenzi moved to put her hands on Bo's arms. "This is real." She looked at her arm. "And it isn't going away Bo-Bo, I'm sorry. I wanted Dyson to be whole, to be able to help you beat the Garuda."

"No." Bo felt anger becoming the over ruling emotion running through her, a flicker of blue flashing through her eyes as she shook her head and backed up away from Kenzi a little. Not sure what else to do, she pulled out her phone and with a soft click her call connected and Dyson's voice came from the other end. "Get here now." She literally growled into the phone before switching it off the next instant.

-x-

Dyson walked slowly down the alley, back to where the Camaro was parked. Bo was pacing around it and Kenzi was sat in her seat looking pensive and upset. When he had arrived the wolf had been faced with an inflamed Succubus and his only choice had been to head into the Triple Moon to try and get a better idea what was going on.

"Bo." Dyson walked towards her but stopped giving her a wide berth. "I think I have a better idea of what is going on now." He watched her feet come to a firm stop, be replanted and then face him. He waited for the fallout to come.

"Really?" Bo's breathing was rapid and angry. "Want to explain it to me, because right now I really want to understand." She looked at him, her eyes almost feral.

"A long time ago, one of Kenzi's ancestors went to the Norn and traded their 'magic' for something. When Kenzi went to the Norn, fate must have decided that the magic be returned to her." Dyson tried to keep things straightforward and clear cut for now. "That magic is now returning to Kenzi, and it cannot be stopped."

"Find a way." Bo said tensely.

"Bo, if I could, I would but there isn't one. The magic has been returned to Kenzi, by all accounts this is what fate wanted to happen." Dyson locked his jaw prepared for the anger about to be centred on him.

"She did this for you." Bo hissed. "And all you can say is fate wanted it to happen."

"Bo, I didn't know she'd gone back there until it was already done." Dyson tried to explain. "I don't want anything to happen to Kenzi either but we can't go back in time."

"Damn you." Bo slammed her hand on the hood of the Camaro. "She did this for you and you're doing nothing for her." She began stalking around to the driver's door of the car.

Inside the car Kenzi had jumped at the noise and stared out at them, trying to make eye contact with the wolf. She hadn't been sure how he could help, but she always held the secret hope that at the very least Dyson's love for the succubus would give him an edge in calming her.

"Bo. I understand you want to blame me and that's fine but there is nothing I can do." Dyson moved around with her. "There is nothing you can do either, so we need to deal with that which we can do something about."

"You have no idea what I am thinking, who I am blaming, or anything else about me right now." Blue sparks flared across brown eyes as Bo yanked open the car door. "Stay out of my way."

Dyson was so shocked for a moment by the blue in her eyes that he stepped back.

"Bo." He spoke her name and moved to put his hand on the door. "You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what I need." Bo slammed the car door making Dyson pull his hand away for fear of getting it slammed in between the metal. She turned the ignition and spun the car out of the parking slot, tipping Kenzi a little out of her place.

"Bo, Bo, where are we going?" Kenzi wasn't even strapped in and she tried to look around at Bo. "Bo, please slow down."

"You're going to tell me where to find the Norn." Bo did slow down, evening her voice out a little as she spoke to her best friend.

"No, Bo." Kenzi shook her head. "That bitch isn't getting anything else from anyone."

"Kenzi, just tell me." Bo's breathing hitched again, her hands clenching the steering wheel tighter.

"No, and don't you dare make me tell you. Pull over and talk." Kenzi tried to urge her to do something safer then going well over the speed limit down a neighbourhood street.

The Succubus took a few moments, her mind whirling and then dropped down through the gears, pulling over to the side of the road. She turned in her seat as soon as the car was still.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"Bo, what's done is done." Kenzi turned to her. "You need to understand that I went to the Norn to get Dyson's mojo back because it had to be done. I know what I did was stupid, and so human, and now well I'm paying for it. It's like you do the crime you do the time. We have to focus on everything else right now Bo, the witch wouldn't lie. Trust me, I just know."

"I can't accept that." Bo frowned hard. "I can't lose you." She shook her head.

"You're not going to lose me... I'm..." Kenzi's brow furrowed. "I'm scared too Bo, I've been wanting to tell you about this since it started but we were fighting the Garuda. Then the Garuda had just been killed and we were celebrating, I didn't want to upset you." She reached out and took Bo's hand.

"What does it even mean?" Bo suddenly found her anger dissipating, replaced instead by fear, tears welled up in her chocolate brown eyes. "I can't let something happen to you that I don't understand." She reached over and put her hand on Kenzi's shoulder.

"I can feel it Bo, inside me sometimes, it's like I did some bad acid for a few seconds but I"m not hallucinating. I'm suddenly looking at the world and everything changes." Kenzi scooted her small body across the division in the seats and landed against Bo's body. "It hurts and itches." She whispered almost in a childlike tone.

Bo slipped her arm around Kenzi and closed her eyes.

"I just know what she's telling us is the truth." Kenzi clung to her best friend. "And if..." She pulled back after a long moment, her eyes holding back thick tears of fear and panic. "Hazel said she can speed up the process and then I would be able to be the witch who does the incantation for Lauren. If this is going to happen, I would rather it happen and help you then just happen." She boiled down what she did know and could focus on. The 'what if's' just scared her and she had a habit of hiding from things that scared her like this.

"If she does this, she does it at the Dal, I want us all there, I want you surrounded by people who know you, who care about you." Bo outlined her reluctant conditions.

"I don't know if she'll agree to that Bo, and you must go to the Gala, make sure that Lauren knows we're doing something, make sure she knows she's not alone." Kenzi reminded Bo. "Hazel also warned... it would be painful, either way but... I'm not sure you want to watch."

"I can't let you do this alone," Bo shook her head. "And it can't hurt you, I didn't agree to something hurting you."

"I think pain is part of the gift." Kenzi leaned back against Bo. "It's not Dyson's fault." She said smaller. "He didn't know I was doing it."

"I don't want to talk about that." Bo shook her head as she leaned her head down against the top of Kenzi's "He should have known you would do something." She took a breath making herself not focus on it. "I'm taking you to the Dal then I'm going to have a chat with our Witch." She summed up her plan of action.

"Whatever you say Bowsie." Kenzi shifted so she was still leaned against Bo but she could still drive.

-x-

Trick carried in a very generous glass of whiskey with ice and put it on the bar in front of where Kenzi was sitting. Bo had been gone about an hour and it was getting closer to seven o'clock, the official start of the Gala.

"Where is Bo?" Kenzi smiled thankful for the whiskey as she took a long sip. The other remedy she'd found for her arm was to enjoy as much hard liquor as she could tolerate. "She has to go to the Gala, if she doesn't Lauren won't even know we're trying to help her."

"I don't know." Trick was honest as he leaned against the bar looking at Kenzi his face wearing a soft frown. "What were you thinking?" He asked quietly.

"I was thinking save Dyson." Kenzi admitted the narrow minded fact. "Because saving Dyson helped Bo."

"I have some things that will help with the pain, if Hazel allows them." The Blood King offered not questioning her motivations further. "Or some things we could try to slow the whole process down if you should choose." He added looking at Kenzi seriously.

"What's the difference Trick? Other than not being able to help Lauren." Kenzi took another sip. "Whatever is happening to me is happening. Have you ever heard of anything like that?"

"Unfortunately yes." Trick gave a sad nod. "I have heard of both a fae being stripped of their powers, essentially being made human, and of a human being infused with fae essence."

"And those stories work out great don't they?" Kenzi gave him a sad smile.

Trick looked down at the bar briefly.

"I'm not going to lie to you Kenzi, no, they didn't always work out well. Some did." He offered. "The biggest difference will be that you will no longer be human." He stressed the same fact Hazel had to her.

"What do you mean?" Kenzi's eyes widened.

"You will be fae." Trick summed up. "And for a while you will have trouble adjusting." He explained. "How exactly that will manifest itself I cannot say, a lot will depend on the origin of the blood you were infected by."

"Fae? That's crazy." Kenzi shook her head unable to believe it.

"I want you to know Kenzi I will be here for you, as much as I can be." Trick reached out and patted the back of her hand lightly. "If you decide to go ahead with this."

"Do I have a choice?" Kenzi asked of him one last time.

"Of course you do." Trick said seriously. "I have herbs, treatments that will delay the change for a time, months, maybe even years. Perhaps enough time for us to find a cure." The barkeep replied but his tone didn't hold its usual conviction. "There are always choices Kenzi." He added with a soft frown.

"Nope, I had to stick my chainsaw into the rabbit hole." She punched down the rest of her drink. "Let's follow the rabbit." She turned and was rewarded by Bo finally arriving and she raced over to her.

The brunette caught Kenzi in a soft hug and drew her close as from behind her Hazel stepped into the main area of the Dal. Trick met blue eyes and nodded silently before moving off to pour the witch a drink. The witch moved slowly to put a large carpet bag on the bar.

"Hey." Bo smiled as she eased back from Kenzi and cupped her hand over her shoulder.

"Hey, how did the big talk go?" Kenzi questioned knowing it must have done some good as the witch was there.

"It was okay." Bo nodded glancing at the witch in question. "I understand bit more, I like it all a bit less." She admitted breathing out deeply. "How are you doing?"

"Getting a buzz on." Kenzi laughed tightly. "Your grandfather pours a good drink."

"I think he's had a bit of practice." Bo smiled at the comment that was so Kenzi. "You don't have to do this, I was talking to Hazel, there are things she can do, herbs and preparations she can give you that will slow the process, take away the side effects to a more manageable level." She rubbed her thumb on Kenzi's shoulder. "I will find a way to save Lauren. This isn't the only option." She looked at Kenzi. "And I will not stop until I find a way of making this better if you tell me you want to hold off."

"No." Kenzi slowly shook her head. "I want this to end." She leaned back and scratched at her arm, now that everyone knew it was easier to keep it uncovered to stop the intense itching. On Trick's order she had not taken anymore of her home remedies. "I'm gonna be a fae Bo, just like you." She smiled at the older woman almost proudly. "Do you think they'll make me do the choosy thing or just assume I'm unaligned with you?"

"Every fae has to do the test." Dyson's voice came from behind the pair, making them both jump. He was dressed in Gala finery as he walked passed them both not stopping until he reached the bar to lay the garment bag he was carrying down on the surface.

"When we tell them what has happened then you might take the test, if you're ready." Bo gave him 'the eye' and hugged Kenzi again. "But nothing will happen to you, I won't let it." She underlined. "I didn't let them touch you when you were human, I won't let them do it when you're fae."

"Good." Kenzi grinned at her. "Now go, Trick said it will take time to set up so you can talk to Lauren and come back before we start."

Bo straightened up and turned to Hazel, though she addressed all of them.

"Don't touch her until I get back." She warned though she deliberately kept her voice light. Moving swiftly she crossed into the back room to get changed.

-x-

The compound was milling with well dressed fae all politely chatty and rubbing shoulders with each other, with the five prospective candidates doing their best to do the most meet and greets possibly as they did the rounds of the large ball room. As had been set up from the Gala Bo had attended before, the long tall colour coded glass tubes holding the tokens for each candidate were slowly filling up as each guest made their choice as to who was getting their vote, and would therefore proceed to the hunt the following morning.

Bo and Dyson were fashionably late, Bo dressed in a dark green dress that clung tightly to her curves accentuated her breasts and then stopped just above her thigh. She took a quick moment to take in the room and its set up, instantly picking up on the five candidates before her eyes fell on the longest line up in the room. She knew instantly where it led, and she had to take a moment to steady herself.

Set up upon a raised platform, was a rose wood arbour, with entwined vines covered with white and red roses. Generous swathes of gold and green material serving as a backdrop for a carved wooden thrown. Incorporated into it, in fact really the only part of it that Bo could see because of the line up of at least twenty fae, was a huge set of antlers. Intricately carved and then painted with gold at every tip and prong. Woven around them were long streams of green and gold fabric with trailing roses dropping down from them.

"You should greet the candidates." Dyson nodded almost imperceptibly towards Val, the representative from the Clan Zamora. Her coloured sash easily distinguishing her from the other guests. Bo gave a quick look around to see the other four candidates.

"I will, once I see her." Bo nodded and glanced at him. "You should vote." She started towards the line.

"Bo, there is protocol..." Dyson said in a hushed voice.

"She needs to know we're here." Bo glared at him as she turned briefly and then headed into the line.

Dyson sighed, turned away and went to mingle. The unaligned Succubus might be able to snub tradition but he couldn't.

As the long line began to move, Bo got her first glimpse of Lauren long before the blonde could see her. The large throne was generously padded with green and gold cushions and in the midst of them Lauren was seated.

Dressed in brilliant red, her dress had a boned bodice laced at the front with gold cord, that matched the gold trim that outlined her breasts and edged both the top and bottom of the small off the shoulder sleeves that cut across her mid upper arm. The corset top dropped down in a low 'V' over Lauren's flat stomach into a full velvet skirt with a hunter green tapestry insert in the centre. Her long blonde hair was piled up on her head with a few tendrils curling down onto her shoulders, and a Tiara of woven dogwood and roses pinned neatly into it.

Bo had been staring at her in awe at first and then a hint of panic crept in. A large part of her just wanted to immobilize everyone and save Lauren now, but she knew that she had to go with the plan or everything Kenzi was willing to face meant nothing.

When she was three back in line, Bo was already watching when the moment that Lauren's eyes fell on her finally came and the blonde realized she was there. The intensity between the stare made it almost impossible for Bo not to just push past everyone, but she managed to stay put and behave.

It seemed to take forever for the three fae between them to step up to the small dais, take Lauren's hand, kiss it lightly and speak some words of compliment or good wishes for the upcoming hunt. Lauren took a breath forcing herself to lock her jaw as Bo stepped up onto the first step of the dais.

"Lauren." Bo breathed out the doctor's name as she stepped closer and took her hand, pressing a small square of folded paper into her palm. "I came as soon as I found out, they've been keeping it a secret."

"It was kind of you to come." Lauren's lip trembled as she gave the polite 'acceptable' answer, her fingers closing around the paper, her eyes filling with tears she didn't dare let fall.

"Lauren..." Bo kept a hold of her hand, trying to focus her emotions and not simply go nuclear. "It's going to be okay." She finally let her lips touch the back of Lauren's hand. "I love you, be strong." She whispered so that no one could hear her.

"I love..." Lauren paused remembering where they were. "How you have done your hair." She kept her demeanour as at least fifty fae were looking at her, silently praying that Bo understood what she was trying say.

"Be strong." Bo repeated literally having to be guided away by an usher when she lingered to long, her eyes never leaving Lauren as she backed off. The blonde only looked away when she was forced to greet the next fae in line.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Four** by The Rainbowwriters

"Bo, we need to talk." Dyson lightly caught hold of Bo's arm as the succubus was leaned against a marble column watching the Gala. It was obvious to him at least, that she was doing her best not to just stare across the crowded room at Lauren.

The wolf had already done his circuit of the room, meeting each of the fae who had been put forward in consideration for the Hunt. The first was of course Valarie Santiago, pride of clan Zamora and the reason for a good deal of his discomfort with his former best friend. Next was a water Dryad named Capella, a tall, wisp of a woman who had a echo under her voice when she spoke that made the wolf very uneasy. Thirdly was an avian fae from a small clan, named Cassandra, the talk of the Gala being that she had only been considered to appease a certain elder of the same family who had never had a candidate before. The fourth contestant was a Kapre named Damascus, his warrior nature easily guessed from his general uncomfortableness in his tuxedo and bulging muscles. The finally fae up for consideration was in stark contrast to Damascus, an energy disruptor named Georgius who was small in both stature and build.

"Which of the impending disasters do you want to talk about?" Bo finally dragged her eyes off Lauren to look at him.

"Us." He guided her back a little towards a door that led out to a small balcony room. The Succubus let herself be led and once they were outside, the wolf closed off the doors to lower the noise.

"Us? Dyson, does this seem like the greatest time to talk about us?" Bo questioned him once he turned away from the door.

"Yes, because we need to sort some things out." The wolf stood a little straighter. "I know you are angry at me right now."

"Angry?" Bo just looked at him with intense emotion. "Dyson, I finally get you back whole and to do that I have to lose Kenzi's humanity? How is this fair? When does it stop? When does anyone actually ask me before they do this kind of thing?"

"It's not fair, and I am sorry, I underestimated Kenzi and what she would do, the lengths she would go to." He took a slight step towards the succubus, a long empty pause sitting between them before he spoke. "Stop her from doing this." He added seriously.

"Clarify to me if I'm missing something, but isn't this going to happen no matter what we do?" Bo looked at him lost.

"There are things we can give her to delay the change, for years Bo, charms we can search for." He looked at her clearly willing to do whatever it took, including going to the ends of the earth in search of mythical fae relics.

"Years of delusions and possible psychosis, periods with intense pain and paralysis, I talked to the authority on this and she gave me all the graphic details." Bo sighed her anger lowering into sadness. "It's happening Dyson, I know right now you must be feeling worse then I am, but we all have to deal with this."

"We don't know what will happen when she changes, we don't know the source of the blood. It could be dark fae. A dark druid, a necromancer." He frowned harder. "Trick can get things to counter act the side effects she encounters Bo, but can we save her soul?"

"That question was made moot when you showed her where the Norn was." Bo bit the fact at him. "Have you talked to her about how it feels? She can feel it happening Dyson, she's been throwing back painkillers and antihistamines to keep even. She already feels like she's in the breech Dyson, you want me to ask her to stay there for years?"

"We can make that better." Dyson countered breathing a littler harder. "We can't undo what has already been done but we can make the side effects stop now we know what has happened." He sighed. "Isn't that better than losing her?" He snapped. "If you let her do this, she won't be Kenzi after it is done."

Bo just stared at him for a long moment, so many memories and feelings flooding through her body.

"I've had enough air." Bo strode over to the door and pulled it open, not giving him a direct response to his request.

-x-

It was quite clear as the Gala went on that there were three clear favourites for the morning hunt, and to Bo's benefit Val was one of them. That at least meant that there would only be the equivalent of two hunters actually intensely chasing Lauren and after blood and not three. As the evening drew on, Bo found herself being cornered by many of the same fae whose offers were on her fridge. Leaving her scrambling for excuses, and aggravated as her attention wasn't able to be on Lauren.

Finally staving off an elder whose offer had included a horse farm, Bo glanced at the ornate dais only to find that it was empty. The sinking feeling in her stomach only replaced by something much nicer when a soft hand came to rest on her arm.

"Lauren." Bo turned to look into brown eyes immediately.

"Bo." Lauren smiled, it was a tight controlled response and the smile was similarly controlled and precise, as though she was being monitored at all time. Which in retrospect Bo thought, she probably was. "I just wanted once again to come and thank you for coming." She kept herself straight and controlled her smile wavering slightly with all the firmly controlled emotion behind it. "Before I retire in preparation for the Hunt."

During the long days of her arrest, conviction and preparation for this night, Lauren had refused to give up hope that the Succubus would come. After all, the goodbye kiss they had shared in the abattoir wasn't something she could doubt, the intensity had literally pinned her to her spot.

"I swear I didn't know anything about what they were doing to you, I would have come sooner." Bo reached out taking Lauren's hand in her own. "I'll be there tomorrow in the forest, I promise you, you're going to ring that bell."

Lauren's smile tweaked a little at the corners, whether out of amusement or genuine appreciation of Bo's conviction. She leaned forward slightly and gently embraced Bo.

"If you can, they're allowing me some preparation time, I will be in the lab from now until sun rise, when they come to prepare me." She whispered as she made the brief contact.

"I will see you." Bo whispered back confident if she could break into anywhere in the compound it was the lab.

"Enjoy the Gala." The blonde held her head somewhat stiffly as she pulled back and gave a soft curtsey before turning and walking away, her movements being flanked by two well dressed, but still obvious guards.

"Isn't she splendid?" Georgius, sporting a purple armband around his left bicep asked of Bo as he took up a pleased stance beside the succubus and watched as Lauren merged into the crowd. "It will be a pleasure to flush her out of the underbrush in the early morning dew."

"You know..." Bo put out her hand and rested it on the bare skin of his wrist. "It would be really sexy if you pissed yourself right now." She pumped her influence into him and on cue his cream coloured trouser leg began to go dark with urine. "Thanks that was splendid." She turned and walked away as he broke from his stupor embarrassed.

-x-

Bo didn't last much longer in the pomp and ceremony once Lauren had been led away. Just long enough to secure the knowledge that indeed Val did clench a nomination, thus taking the number of assailants they had to worry about down by one. The other two finally contestants were also set as the Kapre and the water Dryad. With these facts, she rounded Dyson up and quickly headed back to the Dal.

Once there, the succubus made a beeline to where Kenzi was at the bar and pulled her to the far end of the deserted room. Trick had closed the bar for the night, giving Hazel and himself the time to set up the alcove for the spell.

Once the two of them were mostly alone, Bo held the younger woman out at arms length and looked at her.

"I don't want you to do this." Bo pushed the words out of her mouth, wishing so much that she could take this all away. "We're going to focus on slowing it down and finding a cure."

"What?" Kenzi frowned slightly. "Bo-Bo this is how we save your girl." She pointed out as she put her hand on the bottom of Bo's elbows.

"We're going to save Lauren but not at the expense of my best friend." Bo shook her head. "I won't let you do this. Between Trick and Hazel they can do a lot to help. Dyson is going to do anything he can to find talismans and objects that will help slow it down."

"Bo..." Kenzi took a quick breath. "How much can they do for me now?" She frowned.

"They can slow it down, help with the side effects." Bo pointed out what she was sure Kenzi already knew. "Long enough for us to figure out a way to reverse it."

"What about Lauren?" Kenzi blinked soft blue eyes at her best friend shaking her head sadly at Bo.

"I will find another way." Bo underlined having made her mind up about this at the Gala. "I have no intention of losing either of you."

"I..." Kenzi felt herself shake a little. "I don't really want to be fae." She admitted in a tiny scared whisper.

"Most of the time I don't want to be fae either." Bo pulled her into a strong hug a tear falling onto her cheek as she held the younger woman tightly.

"Nah, you're really good at it." Kenzi smiled a little unevenly. "You've got the boobs."

"And the boobs say you're not doing this, the risks are too great." Bo finally let her step back from the embrace. "We're going to work on another plan. The good news is they are giving Lauren time in her lab and she told me to sneak in to meet her there. I'll get a better idea of what is going on from that side when I do. Until then, I was thinking what if we pick new witch mentor's brain about other things we can do to tip the scales in your favour?"

"Was she okay? Your girl I mean?" Kenzi asked with a subtle frown.

"I don't know Kenzi." Bo shook her head honestly, reaching up quickly to brush the tear from her cheek, "She was," she paused, "Scared, cold, not that she could be anything else given the fact that she was the centre of attention for the entire Gala. At least she knows now we know and I underlined to her we were doing things, making plans." Bo frowned softly back. "They had her dressed up like a sacrifice, it took everything I had not to just suck them all dry."

"Well go team you for not doing it." Kenzi tried to smile but there was still a frown that lingered on her face. "Are you sure that I shouldn't..." She glanced at where Trick and Hazel were talking.

"Kenzi, I'm positive." Bo's voice was firm and even. "I love you and it's too risky. We're going to figure out more about what is going on with you and stop it." Bo assured her, her voice confident of the choice at least.

"I love you too." Kenzi moved back and nestled her head into the crook of Bo's shoulder and under her chin. "It's been so scarey." She added wrapping her arm around Bo's waist.

"I know, you should have told me sooner." Bo chided her gently not really meaning any malice with the truth. "For the record, now would otherwise be a great time to get Dyson to buy you anything you wanted."

Kenzi just sighed and continued to snuggle.

"Are we ready?" It was Hazel that broke the serene moment, suddenly stepping away from Trick and moving towards Bo and Kenzi. "We have everything prepared." She added, glancing towards the back room, mostly they had been waiting for the Succubus to appear.

"We're not doing it, it's too risky." Bo announced saving Kenzi the looks and confusion. "I know we've all been trying to ignore the risks because of the possible benefits but..." She looked at the light fae witch. "Tell me in your heart this feels right?"

"There is no right or wrong in this." Hazel replied evenly. "There is only the need of a decision." She let out a slow breath. "I see no point in having wasted my time." She added almost silently understanding that without Bo's approval this would not happen. "I can at least cast a charm, and mix some poultices for your arm while I am here." She didn't look at Kenzi as she moved off towards the doorway.

"Was that her pissed off?" Kenzi asked looking at Trick for some kind of a clue.

"No." He shook his head and began to follow her, "That was her accepting your choice." He rephrased Kenzi's assessment. "You should join us." He added to the younger woman.

"Bo?" Kenzi gave the succubus a look of trepidation.

"We'll all go." Bo assured her linking her arm in Kenzi's as they followed.

-x-

"I know that it's custom to talk in riddles and around the point but..." Bo managed to catch the older witch mixing ingredients a short time later alone, finally. "In any straight forward way can you tell me what is going to happen to Kenzi?"

"I'm not sure I understand your question succubus." Hazel replied as she stopped grinding herbs.

"What is going to happen to Kenzi? Is this rash going to spread all over? Is she going to wake up one morning and be magical? How do we know if this donor witch was evil or good?" Bo asked the more important question that Dyson had made her focus on.

"You don't unless you ask the source and I'm not sure anyone is close enough to the Norn to do that." The blonde put down the mortar and pestle she held and looked at Bo. "As for what will happen to your friend, it is hard to say. There are preparations she can take, herbs, and charms, an amulet that is rumoured to still exist but has been lost for some time now..." Her voice trailed off as she frowned for a minute as if recollecting something from a long time ago. "For now though the rash will remain, with the poultices I have prepared applied weekly they will no longer be the trouble to her that they currently are, but I cannot get rid of the discolouration." She shook her head. "I can do little for the night terrors. The subconscious mind is a dangerous thing with which to mess." She pointed out. "As for the other more physical aspects, our gifts are only so good." She frowned slightly. "Though if she is good with her regime of herbs and preparations, she will feel considerably less..." Again the witch paused. "Fractured."

"Is this what you all go through or is this just because of what happened to Kenzi?" Bo checked not understanding how traditional witches really fit into the Fae world.

"This situation is unique to your friend, in that she is a vessel containing two liquids, both red and white wine for example, what your friend and I are attempting to do for her is convince her body that she is carrying not a red and a white, but a rose." She tried to explain.

"My other problem. I know that changing Lauren is impossible without a real witch to say the incantation but..." Bo bit her lip. "Sorry to sound all hipster witch on you, but are glamours real? I mean can they be easily done?"

Hazel took a slight breath and then looked at Bo with a serious look.

"Haven't you already made a decision about who it is that you are saving?" She asked her voice low and quiet.

"I'm saving both of them, no matter what I have to do." Bo vowed to the older woman. "What I want to know is if we can glamour more of us to look like Lauren and confuse the hunters?"

"Most Fae are not taken in by such trickery." Hazel shook her head. "You must remember fae see not just with their eyes." She sighed softly.

"Then there are going to be a lot of drained fae." Bo sighed moving to lean against a table. "I can't let them hurt Lauren."

"The Stag is chosen for its treachery and its cunning, its deceit and its ability to survive, why do you think such a criminal would need your assistance so?" Hazel asked with a querying frown.

"Because the conviction of treason they brought against her was a lie. She was instructed by the old Ash to remove his venom, he was a naga, he knew it must be preserved to kill the Garuda, who would only be vulnerable when he had thought he had already won. Prophecy from the Ancient Wolf Spirit and the Nain Rouge. Lauren managed to stabilize the naga venom even though it was outside its host, and I used it to kill the Garuda. Some within the light fae have twisted that unto her being guilty of treason, that she made the Ash defenceless with her medical magicks." Bo outlined the absurd reason Lauren was even in this position.

"Each Stag has its own powers succubus." The witch smiled softly. "Do not discount the doctor's cunning or will to live."

-x-

"Ah Dr. Lewis..." It was Hale, well Hale dressed no longer in Gala swag but in a delivery man's uniform that pushed in a cart with a large box on it. "I need you to sign for this delivery."

"Oh. Yes." Lauren, who had also changed out of her regalia and was now in a pair of dress pants, a button down and her usual lab coat. A frown danced on her brow as she came over to scribble her signature on the clipboard that the delivery man was holding, not even noticing that it was Hale at first. "Thank you, put it down over there." She glanced at the 'fragile' and 'this side up' stickers on it and added. "Carefully." As an after thought, having to laugh sadly inside that mere hours before her scheduled 'death' she was still doing what she should do.

"Yes ma'am." Hale smiled realizing the distracted woman didn't know who he was and he used the cart to drop the box, which did make a slight noise of discontent. "You really should open it right now." He made the soft suggestion.

"What?" Lauren walked from where she had been going back towards her lab desk, back towards the box, taking a moment to actually look at the delivery 'boy' as she reached out to break the seal across the top of the cardboard. She blinked again when she recognized the man in uniform. "Hale." She whispered her voice full of surprise, her hands stalling as she partially pulled open the top flap of cardboard.

"Enjoy your package." Hale tipped his cap at her and pushed his cart away at the same time that Bo was finally climbing out of the confined space.

"I take it back, the body bags smelled like feet but at least they weren't like being buried alive in foam peanuts." Bo smiled at Lauren as she picked one that was stuck to her hair out.

"Bo!" Without thinking to stop herself Lauren pushed herself into the succubus' arms, wrapping her own arms around her back and holding on tight. Her controlled demeanour from the party was completely forgotten.

"I'm here." Bo held her back tightly for a long time before they finally let go and she managed to climb out of the rather large box. "Have they hurt you? Are they treating you properly, the bastards?"

"It's been better recently." Lauren admitted somewhat cagily as she moved a little back from the brunette to give her space to stretch after her confinement. "But now I know why that is." She rolled her eyes at the irony of the situation. "It wouldn't be a good hunt with a malnourished, weak, sleep deprived stag would it." She cleared her throat and turned away from the succubus.

"I know all of this is insane Lauren, but... you're going to ring that bell tomorrow." Bo underlined again. "Val is one of the hunters and she has already vowed that she won't do you any harm, she thinks this is a farce as much as any of us. The other two, I'm going to deal with."

"Bo, I know you'll try but, I really don't see how you can help." Lauren shook her head as she pushed her hands into her lab coat pockets and took long steps back over to her desk.

"I'm working on some things, that involve glamours and distractions. We just have to get you enough time and enough safe cover to get to the bell." Bo moved after her slowly. "Lauren, I need you to at least understand, I won't let them hurt you. If there is nothing else I can do... I'll just free you myself." She said the words in a whisper.

"Bo, no." Lauren stopped and turned looking at Bo seriously. "Since what happened with the Garuda, we talked about this already, there are tests I want to do, I'm not happy about what the blood forging might have done to the delicate power balance that you have fought so hard to develop inside yourself." She took a step towards the brunette and reached out and took her hand. "You can't risk yourself for me." She underlined.

"Yes, I can." Bo shook her head back, holding Lauren's hand back tightly. "Because I love you." She whispered again as she had at the dais.

"I..." Lauren blinked and looked down at the lab floor for a moment, before slowly looking up again. "I love you to Bo." She breathed out and took her other hand out of her lab coat pocket and cupped Bo's cheek. "But I don't think you're stable." She had said the words before she thought to stop herself. She took a breath and rolled her eyes dropping her head to look at the floor again before letting her hand slip away from its place as she backed up slightly. "I'm sorry." She whispered the apology.

Bo's initial reaction had been hurt, and a hint of anger from somewhere inside that finally making her proclamation of love had resulted in this but as she watched Lauren, she let out a breath of her own.

"You're right." Bo whispered back. "But I can't hope to be stable again until you're safe. You're in danger Lauren, I can't be expected to just cope, to do the calm thing. I won't apologize for that."

The blonde seemed to weigh up this statement for a moment and then accept it for what it was, an honest appraisal of where the succubus was right now.

"I've been working on some things." Lauren said beckoning Bo over to the lab desk to share her ingenuity.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Five** by The Rainbowwriters

Despite Hazel's warnings, Kenzi had been disappointed when the first application of 'medicine' hadn't reduced the visual redness or blistering of the skin on her forearm. She'd secretly been hoping it would lessen considerably and return to looking as it had at first, a badly sprayed tan.

What it had done however was numb the constant throb that the young woman had become more and more accustomed to, it had also considerably soothed the burning sensation that she feared she'd never get used too.

Of course the 'medicine' was as dodgy as Kenzi had ever seen. The blonde witch had spent a good ten minutes carefully mixing and chanting over what became a large pot of bluish goo, that reminded Kenzi of the slime a kids channel was famous for dropping on people's head. Trick had taken control then, carefully spreading the goo on layered gauze, with a long silver needle that seemed to make the job harder then it needed to be. When he was happy with it, he had carefully wrapped her arm and secured it in place with more strips of gauze.

Kenzi had kept it on the arm for half an hour as instructed, it smelled strangely like liquorice and almonds, which was something nice at least. The leftover goo had been carefully collected into a crystal jar, and with Trick's help she was to repeat the poultice once a week at least. On Trick's questioning, Kenzi had been happy to know she could use the effective medicine up to three time a week. Basically Kenzi felt about 90 percent better, even if she did smell a little like an old folks home.

"Someone looks a little more like herself." Dyson came up to where she was resting on a settee in the private area of the Dal. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I think I'm good." Kenzi summed up as she shifted her legs upwards and pointed to the end of the couch for Dyson to sit down. "You however look like shit." She summed up eloquently. "What's up D-Man?" She asked with a tough girl frown.

"I'm wondering how I tell someone who did something dangerous and heroic for me that she shouldn't have, that it wasn't worth the risk she put herself in." Dyson looked at her, his deep voice soft.

"You buy her a pony, oh and a new car, and maybe a house." Kenzi teased with a wide grin. "Come on Dyson, I couldn't watch you hurt any more." She shook her head. "You needed it back, so I got it back, simple." She shrugged and for a moment just held his eyes. "So it went a little screwy on me." She shrugged again looking away. "Story of my life."

"I'm glad you chose to be more cautious with how we deal with this." Dyson put his hand over her leg, squeezing lightly. "I will do everything I possibly can to help find a cure, or anything that will slow it down." He vowed to her, knowing she wouldn't realize but that his oath now bound him to this quest as much as his allegiance to the Blood King.

"I know you will, and if it's possible we'll find a way, I know that." Kenzi's positivity didn't quite reach her eyes. "Did Bo give you a hard time at the Gala?" She asked in a slightly softer voice, knowing the 'her' aspect wasn't the only thing weighing him down.

"Bo..." Dyson went to answer but hesitated. "Is dealing with this in her own way."

"Wow that was the biggest yes you've ever given me." Kenzi laughed softly. "She doesn't mean it, it's just raw right now." She leaned down and patted his shoulder. "That and she's petrified about Lauren, who we HAVE to save by the way." She pointed out, knowing that he would help even if he seemed reluctant sometimes. "So get the wolf sized brain a-working." She encouraged him.

"I'm not sure what any of us can do to save Lauren." Dyson was honest with her. "I don't agree that she deserves what is being done to her, but I'm not sure what we can do. In so many ways, if Bo or any of us interfere with the hunt it will just be held again." He gave a soft growl under his breath. "I have to admit though, I imagined when Bo finally found out about what you had done, her response would be positive for just a moment."

"I bet." Kenzi gave him a soft sad smile. "Somewhere inside a part of her is doing jumping jacks that you're back on the Love Boat." she encouraged him. "It's just there's a lot of other stuff inside there with it right now."

"I know." Dyson nodded softly. "I think Trick said you should try to sleep until Bo gets back from the compound. I'll keep watch if you like, so you feel safe in an unfamiliar place."

"Dyson, it's the Dal, this is my second home." Kenzi laughed at his appraisal. "I think I've almost clocked as many hours here as I have at the clubhouse."

"Then humour a wolf who isn't good at expressing how worried he is about you." Dyson gave her a shake of his head as he pulled a chair over and shifted over into it.

"I am kinda tired." Kenzi scooted a little further down on the couch and closed her eyes, "Sleeping has been this weird kaleidoscope of trippy fractal images recently, not exactly restful." She grumbled as she tucked both hands under her cheek.

"They say a wolf by your bed scares bad dreams away." Dyson shifted out of his coat and laid it out over her legs. "I will wake you if you are uneasy."

"Perfect." Kenzi smiled sleepily at him, knowing in her heart what he had said was true. With Dyson watching over her, nothing could hurt her.

-x-

"Wow, so you have a whole plan here." Bo looked down at the carefully dissected topographical map of the hunting grounds. Tracking over where Lauren was hoping to set out the various 'traps' she'd created to help herself.

"Well hardly, because as you can quite easily tell the one 'flaw' of my 'plan'." Lauren used little quotations around the words flaw and plan. "Is that there is one of me and I can't set up the traps and run the gauntlet at the same time." She gave Bo a very Lauren-esque smile. "So what I actually have, is a pretty map with several coloured rings, a bag of highly noxious chemicals contained in fragile glass vials and, well, actually, nothing much more than that." She summed up wiping her hands down the front of her lab coat.

"No, what you have is a plan and a group willing to execute it for you." Bo continued to smile at her. "We'll have all this ready by the time you hit the treeline tomorrow. You follow the route you picked and between Dyson and I, we'll lead the hunters in circles until we hear the bell."

Lauren took a deep breath and then let it out as she smiled at Bo. Everything she had been trying to plan had hinged on Bo coming, being the hero she'd always been in the past and the doctor realized with some amount of contentment that just maybe the plan could work.

"If I can make one suggestion." She put forward looking a little uneasy about it, after all her suggestion was going to put Bo away from the heart of the action.

"What?" Bo asked her to continue immediately.

"You focus on the Kapre, it's a very pheromone driven fae, hence why I'm focusing on leading it with scent markers, you being female, will hide better in the scent trail than Dyson would. It's just a little thing but Dyson could easily over power the delicate balance of chemicals and once the trace is lost then..." The blonde shook her head. "He will refocus on me."

"If that's whats going to work then that's what I'll concentrate on." Bo nodded immediately that she would do as the blonde asked, she reached up smoothing her fingers through blonde hair. "We'll make this work."

"Remember Bo you mustn't hurt them, any of them, I'm the only one who can do them any harm, otherwise the Hunt is called null and void and is merely repeated." She looked upwards shaking her head a little, making Bo's hand fall away. "And I don't even want to think about that." She admitted with a short breath. "The natural irritant I've included in the smoke capsules will effect Dyson, but not as severely as the water Dryad, it likes a water environment and so the aerosol particulates will interfere with both its respiratory and ocular systems." Lauren turned back to look at the map. "The only thing I can't calculate is how long it's going to take me to get to the bell, I have no idea how fast I run, I mean I don't run." She shook her head, feeling a bit of panic overtake her. "I don't even own a pair of sneakers."

"Don't worry, you just make steady progress to it and Dyson and I will do the rest with your gadgets." Bo assured her, moving close to the doctor's shoulder. "We can do this Lauren, we killed the Garuda, we can do this."

"The one thing they have given me is that at least the arrows aren't poisoned." Lauren gave a soft sarcastic laugh. "They don't need poison to kill a human."

"Well good for them, but they're going to be even more unhappy when the first ever human stag rings that stupid bell." Bo guided her to the side so they were face to face. "You are going to ring it Lauren, and you are going to be free of all of this."

Lauren who had been breathing rather rapidly through all of this finally let herself take a slower, longer breath.

"If I don't make..." She looked up at Bo, dark eyes meeting each other. "You'll be there, won't you." She asked putting her hand up and placing it flat against Bo's chest.

"You are going to ring that bell." Bo shook her head for a moment, unable to even consider the idea that Lauren would die. She pressed forward and kissed her full on the mouth. "I won't let them hurt you." She whispered pulling her lips back a few millimetres before kissing her again, hiding the bolts of blue she knew were sparking over her eyes from Lauren.

-x-

Bo entered the Dal full of energy and a tentatively positive vibe, that didn't stall so much as just toned itself down a little as she hurried into the bar. The first thing she saw was Kenzi curled up asleep on one of the back couches near the booths. Dyson who was sitting on a chair at her feet sat up and turned instantly when she entered, she stopped him from saying anything by raising her hand so as not to wake Kenzi. He nodded and instead of speaking silently got up from his place and walked quietly to meet her at the bar.

"How well do you know the sacred hunting woods?" Bo asked him in a hushed voice as she man-handled a large bag that she carried onto the bar top.

"I know them." Dyson look didn't change much. "Why?"

"Because we have a plan, well the beginnings of one." Bo unzipped the bag and first took out a photocopy of the map Lauren had with its scribbles, circles and arrows. She put it on the bar and looked at Dyson. "This look accurate?"

The wolf looked over the topographical map for a long moment and then looked at the succubus again.

"Yes, Lauren?" He made the logical leap as to who had drawn out the delicate attack plan.

"Yes. She's been busy." Bo couldn't help but smile as she turned back to the bag and pulled out a fragile looking test tube from a large container that held several of them. "This is what she calls a pheromone bomb." She glanced at Dyson waiting to see if he would understand.

He looked at it, his nostrils flaring a little.

"She wants to lead Damascus away." Dyson gave a short nod, giving the doctor a mental point to have figured out the Kapre's major weakness was its single minded need to follow the scent of a mate. "I take it that's my job?"

"No mine, your manly musk will get in the way. I think that's Lauren's polite way of saying you stink." Bo winked at him. "You get to deal with the water dryad." She put the first vial back and pulled out a small case. She opened it to show him the fragile looking bubbles filled with two liquids divided from one another by a thin membrane. "It's a smoke bomb, but with added irritants, to dry out the mucus membranes, or something." She gave a soft frown. "I was thinking as soon as we get enough light to see we get to the woods, and get set up, any input? Extra ideas?" She looked at him with wide hopeful eyes.

"I think diversion is a good tactic." Dyson nodded, despite his usual competition with the doctor he had to admit the truth. "My only concern is her approach to the bell. If the Dryad isn't almost completely immobilized..." He put a finger onto a gully just before the bell. "Its power will be strongest here, and she plans on going right through." He traced the little red Lauren line.

"And it only needs a clear line of sight, and one shot." Bo closed her eyes a sinking feeling filling her chest as she looked at the map. "But any other route will take a lot longer, she's not fae Dyson, and she's not a runner, how long can an average human maintain a high level of physical activity like running through a forest?"

"Not long enough, even a trained survivalist would need time to run the distance to the bell, that isn't taking into account stopping for orientation and the physiological impact being chased has on a human." Dyson had to admit the last familiar fact.

"You don't think she can do it do you?" Bo was suddenly struck by the fact as she looked at Dyson a little stunned. "Even with these..." She motioned back at the bag. "Distractions, as you called them."

"You misunderstand me Bo." Dyson's mouth curled into a frown. "This course, the terrain, isn't designed for a Fae to win. That is giving account for their special talents, Lauren is a human. If this were a mental test, I would already be putting money on at her at the bookies but it's a physical one. Without the distractions it would be impossible, for her to make a straight run, the Kapre would take her down. It has the advantage in the terrain. The dryad is slower but has intense gifts in the forest in terms of tracking." He tried to outline the problems. "If we can delay them long enough, she might have a chance, but it is a slim one at best Bo."

"Then what else can we do Dyson? She has to ring the bell, there is no option." The succubus turned and walked away from the bar a little.

Dyson grunted and then turned back to the map again.

"Okay..." He snorted again. "If I can drag the Kapre further north, disorient it here around the river, they are often distracted by running water." He pushed his finger past the marker that Lauren had made. "And instead of laying down this irritant in the wider area, we can't..."

"Let the water Dryad get anywhere near the stream." Trick said as he came out from the back room. "If you do Lauren doesn't won't get further than ten, fifteen steps more."

"What?" Bo squeaked as she turned to stare at her grandfather.

"Like Dyson mentioned as soon as it touches the main water source of the forest not only will it overcome any injuries that Lauren's distractions may have caused it, but it can take control of anything that uses that water source as it main life source." He walked over to stand at the bar.

"You mean like the plants and things?" Bo's voice was tight and shocked.

"Exactly Bo, the pool of Ash candidates is very strong this time." Dyson frowned more at her.

"So you're saying that this Dryad actually has several hundred minions just waiting to join the hunt at it's say so?" The edge that entered Bo's voice verged on hysterical.

"The Kapre has speed, the Dryad has its affinity to the forest, Val has physical prowess and the training of one of the most powerful clans." Dyson summed up the almost insurmountable sounding odds. "Bo, I would have a hard time ringing that bell."

"That's it I'm getting her out now." Turning on her heel Bo tipped a bar stool over as she turned and began pacing towards the exit, her footsteps loud and heavy on the floor.

"Bo? Bo-Bo?"

From her place on the couch, Kenzi's voice suddenly called out her hand coming up reaching in the air.

Even though Bo's head was full of noise, voices that told her to just go, get Lauren, take anyone out of the way who tried to stop her, there was still room in there, to hear Kenzi's voice. The succubus stutter stepped literally a hands distance away from the door.

"Kenz?" She didn't turn but did say her best friend's name.

"Bo." Kenzi's voice was stronger and a little more concerned.

Keeping her back to the boys Bo moved to the booth where Kenzi was closing her hand over the one Kenzi held in the air.

"I'm here Kenz, you're okay." She eased down onto her knees blinking several times, but not enough to totally clear the vibrant blue totally from her brown eyes by the time she was eye to eye with her best friend.

"Bo..." Kenzi squeezed her hand tighter. Her own eyes just coming open, clearly still heavy with sleep. "I was having this crazy dream... and then there was this blue laser beam and it kept hitting me in the face and I couldn't finish talking to the raccoon."

"Was it a friendly raccoon?" Bo tried to smile at the younger woman as she reached up to calm slightly wild sleep tussled hair.

"He was a confusing raccoon." Kenzi came awake further. "How was Lauren?" She asked with a soft smile. "I hope you didn't do anything with the stag that you shouldn't have."

"She's in real trouble Kenzi." For a moment it looked as if Bo might just burst into tears.

"What's going on? What did I miss?" Kenzi sat up further.

"One of the prospective Ash's can command trees, plants, anything that basically makes up a forest." Bo blinked tear filled eyes at her best friend. "Lauren used her scientific brain to come up with distractions, things to sidetrack them, but it doesn't matter Kenz." She shook her head pulled her hand back from Kenzi's hair to push back her own from her forehead.

"That's what the raccoon meant." Kenzi looked at her and rolled her eyes. "The tree woman has an army, but the army won't be happy with her." She clearly wasn't so much saying but remembering the elusive memory.

"It's okay Kenzi." Bo frowned sadly and breathed out pushing forward on her knees slightly, as she closed her arms around the slender young woman. "You rest, and get better." She held her close. "I need you Kenzi, I love you so much."

"I love you too Bo." Kenzi hugged her back and then stopped. "You're not planning on doing anything stupid are you?" She wouldn't let go.

"I have to save her Kenzi." Bo replied in a whisper.

"I know you do but we have a plan, she rings the bell and she's yours forever." Kenzi leaned back only a little. "If you go blue banshee on them Bo, there is no coming back, you will have her but no way to keep yourself alive."

"There's no way she can ring that bell." A tear did finally escape from the succubus' eye. "Dyson doesn't think he could even do it."

"He can't do it because he's a fae, she's a human, we can do anything." Kenzi looked at her seriously. "If you go that blue Bo... you won't come back." Her voice was icy with fear.

"If we go with the plan Dyson and I will be leaving here before dawn to try and set up the distractions Lauren put together, stay here, I don't want you any where near that forest." Bo tried to order her busy brain as she gave Kenzi the outline of what was going to happen.

"What good am I here? I could distract them with my new accessory." Kenzi wiggled her arm and frowned. "You might need me safe Bo, but I need you to come back, just as much."

"Then you can come with Trick and Hale, they're coming a little later, but stay with Trick at all times." Bo offered an alternative, if there was one person she trusted Kenzi with it was her grandfather.

"Thank you." Kenzi could see how hard the Succubus was trying, trying so very hard to control the overwhelming fear inside her that the idea of losing Lauren caused. "Now, what do you always tell me? Work the plan? Show me the layout, and let me add my two cents. You know I come up with wacky human type angles." She encouraged pushing off her blanket.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Six** by The Rainbowwriters

Another hour or so of looking at the map and discussing the situation had them no closer to a solution in Bo's opinion and she could feel herself losing both patience and her fight to keep calm. Everyone had tried to offer points and insights, most of which seemed to add another possible layer of failure to the plan.

"I can't do this anymore." Bo suddenly made the announcement in a flat dull voice and pushed away from the table they were all huddled around. Taking purposed long strides the succubus made her way outside, ignoring the calls from everyone as to what she was doing.

"Succubus." To the brunette's surprise, Hazel was the one who suddenly appeared before her on the sidewalk. Her tone was neither approving or disapproving, just serious in its call for her attention. "You are at a crossroads."

"No offence but you don't know me." Bo stopped and looked at her, her breathing a little faster than it should have been, her hands tightly balled into fists by her sides. "And I am not going to stand around in a room and talk about how helpless a situation is when in reality it isn't." She pointed out her main problem. "Now you've already helped me more than you had to and I thank you for that. Really I do." She did her best to maintain her cool for the moment. "But you made it really clear in there that you can't help in the confines of the sacred forest, which I also understand." She forced herself to take a slow breath in. "The more I listened the simpler it became..." A strange smile crossed Bo's face as the clouds of confusion cleared a little in her brain. "Lauren won't need your help in the sacred forest if she never has to be there." A flicker of electric blue flared across her pupils.

"Violence is always simple and always one of the possible answers." Hazel spoke the words still without malice or even fear to the show of power. "On this journey you will always have that road to walk, one in which you make all prone before your great power, I am simply asking you to give me but a moment to show you a different path."

"There will only be violence if someone tries to stop me." Bo flexed her hands again, a wave of reddish aura pulsing through them.

"I have no weapons Bo, no means to stop you, I am no more immune to your charms then the humans which is why I do not 'tell' you anything but ask you, to meet someone who has made it known to me she wishes to meet you. She will not try to stop you either." Hazel put her hands out at her sides slowly, showing the Succubus that even if her magical talents couldn't be seen she had no intention of physically trying to stop the enraged woman. "She just wishes to speak with you."

"I didn't mean you." Bo admitted with a semi-snarl, she had no reason to hurt the witch, unless of course she did try to make her stop. "And I don't have time for a meet and greet." She added putting her foot forward intending to move off, but she stalled. "Look I know you're worried, but really..." She made a better attempt at taking a slower more controlled breath, "I don't want to hurt anyone, I just want Lauren free and out of danger." She made the simple clarification. "Danger that she shouldn't even be in." Her tone got a little sharper with these words, so much so that she had to repeat her calming breathing mantra before speaking again. "Can this fae you want me to meet help me save her?"

"The Dreamer can help everyone." Hazel admitted with a soft smile, pleased at least the succubus was listening. "I believe you have already met her younger sister, the Nain Rouge."

"You just lost my interest." Bo shook her head and stepped off the curb.

"Please, the Nain is a child, the dreamer does not waste her time watching misery and foretelling doom." Hazel continued to speak a shadow her from a distance. "Her goal is as yours, to protect the human race, because without them the fae could not exist in turn. All is an ecosystem, and I cannot speak fully for her but I believe like your friends in there, she does not want you to be lost to your power, she wishes you to become the pure Queen you are meant to be."

"I'm no Queen and have no wish to be." Again a blue bolt flared across Bo's eyes.

"Royal blood flows in your veins, an access to infinite power is your gift. That you are a Queen is undeniable, whether you wish the love of the people to be given freely or just taken is the true question." A new voice entered the conversation, it was sweet and harmonic, the speaker coming what seemed to be out of a sudden mist on the road. She was tall and thin with dark hair and dark features, her eyes were completely inky black. She wore a long flowing dress, made out of a material Bo couldn't have begun to explain as it shimmered and sparkled.

From the side of the pair, Hazel bowed her head and disappeared back to the Dal.

"You may call me Naimi, if I may call you Bo." The Dreamer's painted red lips curled into a smile as she addressed Bo again. Clearly older by some years then the succubus, she seemed almost angelic as they stood their appraising each other.

"You can call me anything you like, I have somewhere to be." Bo turned slightly away from her.

"You do, you must save the Doctor of the Fae." Naimi nodded her head as she stepped closer to the Bo. "What I wish you to think more on is how you will save her."

"Well as no one can come up with a plan that doesn't get her shot with an arrow I'm going to go and get her." Bo felt herself tense up again. "You know no offence Naimi." She looked the other fae up and down slowly. "But unless you're a wood nymph or something that can make some magic blueberry bush run along side the 'Doctor of the Fae' hiding her from the three fae that want to kill her, I don't have time for this."

"I was thinking of suggesting something a little more fundamental." Naimi had to smile at the brunette's strength of purpose. "You once faced the mighty Garuda, and in that fight you were forced to rely on every member of your party for a different purpose in order for you to succeed. Draw faith from that, faith that your plan will work, even if the chances now seem slim."

"That's it?" Bo drew in a hard breath. "That's your help to save Lauren? Have faith, have faith in a plan that no one that made the plan even has faith in."

"None of them had faith in the Garuda plan, they had faith in you." Naimi countered her statement.

"But I'm not in charge of this, I'm just running interference with a fae who get's horny for smelly females of his species." Bo shook her head to advice. Clearly this whole song and dance to present this no doubt powerful fae had amounted to advice she could have received from a fortune cookie. "The person in charge of this is a scared fragile human, who has been lied to, tortured and used by the fae who supposedly supported and cared for her for the last five years." Again a flare of electric blue flashed across Bo's eyes.

"Wrong, she is not in charge, she as you said is the victim. You are the leader, your team looks to you for faith and control. The plan you must execute is to get the good Doctor from A to B without letting the hunters harm her." Naimi's dark eyes stared back at her. "You fear the Dryad's connection to the forest, as you should. You know simply that you must not let it reach the stream, then do not let it reach the stream." Even though the orbs of her eyes had nothing to distinguish the pupil, it was somehow clear that she had stared more intently at Bo. "If you truly wished to arrive at the Light Fae compound and consume the souls of every creature there, you would have already done it and saved your stag the pageantry of the Gala. You, rightfully so, are afraid of what you will become and I can assure you it will not be pleasant, and not 'you' as you believe yourself to be."

"According to you." Bo clenched her jaw a little as she looked down the street before her and then back at the bar. "Hazel said you weren't like your younger sister, unfortunately the resemblance is striking." She finally turned back towards the Dal. "No doubt we will meet again." She said without looking back as she strode towards the door.

-x-

"If we can't keep the Dryad from the stream can we get the stream away from the Dryad?" Bo strode up to the table again, looking at everyone's confused faces with an unreadable look.

"I see what you mean, dam it upstream so there is no stream." Kenzi looked at her with a bright grin, more pleased that Bo hadn't gone supernova then even was about the idea.

"Exactly." Bo nodded at her best friend. "We have time, hours." She looked between the men. "We can do a pretty thorough job in that time." She took a breath. "No water, no control, right? And the time and focus the dryad puts into getting to the stream that it doesn't know isn't there any more is time given to Lauren as free passage." She looked around again for confirmation.

"That could work." Hale pulled the map over looking at it. "The stream is fed from here, it's not even within the sacred grounds so interference isn't against the rules." He showed Dyson.

"Trick?" Bo asked of her grandfather feeling a spark of new hope.

Trick motioned her over to the other side of the bar and leaned in close to her.

"You have a different air about you, who did you meet outside?" He glanced at where the older witch was again at the bar looking at the map with the others, though she remained silent.

"Someone Hazel called The Dreamer." Bo said her voice low, her eyes rolling to show her dissatisfaction with the meeting.

"The Dreamer appeared to you?" Trick's brow immediately furrowed. "What did she say?"

"Nothing helpful." Bo shook her head at him. "Luckily for me I have friends, and family..." She reached out and gave his hand a light squeeze. "Who actually help."

"I wish you to give me a full explanation of her visit later." He squeezed her hand back. "But I think your unorthodox idea could give the plan the boost it needs."

"While we're talking about future talks we're going to have, book me in for a serious one about some stuff okay?" Bo suddenly added with a slight frown, keeping her hand in his.

"Anytime." Trick nodded seeing that under the layers of bravado she was really rattled over the current events. "Please Bo remember, I know you love Lauren but... I have been in the dark place you are, you think any action is acceptable as long as it is a solution."

"Can you truly tell me that? Can you honestly say to me that if you had know then what you know now you would not have acted differently. If you could have planned and saved Isabeau's life in the hours before it even happened, wouldn't you have done it? No matter what it took?" Bo asked of him her voice pleading for honesty.

"I would have done anything to save your grandmother if I had known." Trick's voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke. "But Bo... what you are tempted to do... it will result in so many deaths..."

"Only if they try and stop me." Bo interrupted him.

"They will, you know that, their pride will commit them to not only opposing you but pursuing you, it will start a war between you and the light." Trick spelled out for her. "One in which the only solution will be you destroying or assimilating all the light, or the light destroying you."

"Over a human?" Bo countered. "I thought humans meant nothing, less than nothing."

"Over you disobeying the rule of the light fae. Lauren doesn't mean anything to them Bo, I haven't told you this before now because, well simply because it changed nothing but I tried to help her." Trick frowned and looked away for a moment.

"What?" Bo felt her shoulders tighten and her stomach knot.

"I was contacted by a friend in the compound when the charges were first laid against Lauren. I went there to tell the hearing panel that I had been there, when Lachlan had called for Lauren." He explained what he meant. "She told them I was lying. That I had never been there, that I arrived too late to stop her from doing what she did."

"What? No." Bo shook her head, this time being the one to turn away, her emotions thrown for another loop.

"Bo," Trick moved over to her and put his hand on her arm softly, "She did it to save me, I had been foolish to even go to the compound, I know that now, the panel were just going to extend the charges to us both." He looked at her sombrely. "I know how you feel," his voice was infused with passion, "But your actions will dictate their retaliation and they will never just let you have her. Winning the hunt is the only way she will achieve freedom." Trick frowned as he outlined the truth to her. "In the old days we would discuss this over a vellum handmade map, I would push around little statues to show how if you began this war, the light would oppose you. How the dark would likely try to capitalize on the weakness, and either defeat the light with you only to turn on you, or turn on you immediately out of fear. In the end there will be only you or no you."

"Believe me right now if I thought joining the dark would get me Lauren back, I would be tempted." Bo was honest as she breathed out. "This is wrong, this is not fair." She tried hard to stop the fire burning inside.

"Sometimes Bo, it is hardest to just decide on an action, and not second guess." Trick gave her another loving smile. "Though if I may say, you have my wife's look of anger when she felt something was unfair."

With these words Bo felt a little more of the fire inside simmer. She breathed out another calming breath, filing away the fact that Trick had kept hidden the knowledge of Lauren's incarceration for a reaction at a better time.

"Okay, so this is our plan." Bo actually smiled slightly. "We make it work."

-x-

Hale carefully finished the whistle that he was using forge a seal in the makeshift dam that they had created across the head of the stream. After several hours of hard work creating a connecting trough to the nearby parallel stream, Bo watched what was actually only a small stream of water in the first place, happily divert itself along the new path. The obviously tense succubus actually smiled slightly in the dim light as Dyson and Hale joined her.

"We need to get into our positions, the sun is almost high enough for them to begin." Dyson informed looking up at the treetops and just 'knowing' this fact more than anything.

"Thank you." Bo looked at them both. "And Hale I know how much having an Ash from the Clan Zamora would mean to your family..." She looked at the Siren. "So I can't imagine how hard it was for Val to agree to help us."

"Val is a good girl, and she knows that without Lauren we'd never have beaten the Garuda." Hale gave her a shrug. "My father on the other hand will be heartbroken, but he'll live, there will be another hunt."

"See you all at the bell." Bo looked at them both and moved to hug the Siren briefly and then moved to Dyson. "Do your best." She asked of him softly as she stepped up to him and closed his arms around him tightly.

"I won't let you down." Dyson held her back, clear at that moment about the reality that if he did anything but his best then Bo could blame the failure on him, and he never wanted to be viewed by Bo as having failed.

-x-

Bo had discovered earlier that Lauren's holder contained a dozen pheromone bombs, more than she had already needed to distract the Kapre in accordance to the doctor's plan. She'd already come up with the idea that there was far more of a chance that Damascus would actively chase a moving pheromone trail and so was liberally dousing her brown leather jacket with the contents of several vials when the relative silence of the sacred forest was shattered by a single long horn blow.

The announcement of the release of the Stag. The Hunt had begun.

The succubus' hand literally stalled mid shake as the reality dawned on her that it was happening. Not that far away from her in the dense forest Lauren had just been given the signal to begin her run for freedom. For a minute Bo thought the very idea of it might make her sick as she looked around at the dense trees and under growth around her, her mind going over just how hard it would be to get through this, with no true paths, no clear ground for ease of footing.

She actually leaned against a tree for a moment before grabbing her slightly damp jacket and pulling it on, slipping the empty vial in her backpack before slipping it safely onto her back and running into cover to begin her diversion run.

-x-

The horn had made Dyson pause behind a large oak he was using near the treeline for cover. He watched as a somewhat calm and clearly determined Lauren, looking odd and small in her camo outfit began running towards the brush line and finely breached into the trees.

He chose not to give away his position as he tracked her, pleased at least that she was starting strong. His mind kept a count as they moved, knowing the ten minute lead wasn't going to really seem like long once they got going.

The wolf stopped his direct trail of her after about five minutes, looping back around to prepare to intercept Capella, the water Dryad.

-x-

Lauren's feet faltered slightly when two birds flew noisily out of the tree she hurried past at the three loud long blast of the same horn that had sent her on her way ten minutes earlier. Closing her eyes briefly, forcing herself not to think about what that meant, she instead just tried to remember her path and her breathing.

The blonde had tried to prepare herself for the terrain, but there was no preparation she could do for the physical exertion. She was used to the lab, she was used to the occasional morning jog, if the mood struck her, but not this. This was out of her sphere. Yes, she had been to the Congo, but that hadn't been a run through the Congo avoiding your own death trip and it hadn't been anything like this. The air was still chilled and heavy with morning dampness, that meant her body was cramping and the ground under foot was slippy and wet.

Realizing she was thinking more than moving Lauren closed her eyes briefly to focus herself and put on a short burst of speed, heading south east towards a thicker grove of pine trees.

-x-

It became pretty clear to Bo, not long after the three horns had sounded, that her quarry had entered the forest and immediately been effected as Lauren had thought he would be. Damascus was a broad man, and he was pushing his way noisily through the trees, clearly not caring how noisy he was as he was the hunter not the hunted.

She had paused on a rise to see his form continue to juggernaut through the forest below on a beeline to her position. Taking off again Bo purposely made sure to brush the soaked jacket against trees and branches as she continued on her path to lead him completely away from Lauren.

-x-

As the team had predicted Capella didn't seem to even look which way Lauren had gone, nor did she lift her head to scan, or sniff or taste the air for a trace of her. She just began to head towards the heart of the forest, where the stream ran at its strongest and fastest. Which is exactly what Dyson had hoped for as in that direct path he had set up his first barrage of smoke atomizers.

Which on cue the tall, elegant and slow moving creature set off as it breached the treeline that Dyson had predicted it would.

In an instant the air was filled with a cloud of smoke and dust that pillowed and plumed around the dryad's body. Within milliseconds the tall fae began coughing hard, so hard in fact that she bent over, doubled up, gasping for breath or something like clean air through gills that appeared out of the sides of her neck. Reaching for a water pouch on her side, the dryad made an attempt to clean her face, eyes and gills. Her forward progress completely stalled for the moment.

-x-

Lauren's lungs were beginning to burn she ran up to a tall elm tree lodging her shoulder against it for support as she pulled her map from the utility belt on her waist and quickly unfolded it. Keeping her angry legs moving as she looked at it, knowing enough not to stop, or to take advantage of the oh so handy tree stump that was next to the elm tree offering an inviting place to just rest for a moment.

She quickly glanced at the compass she had around her neck to orientate herself on the map, and to double check she was on the right track. The blonde tucked a stray strand of hair that had escaped from her pony tail and breathed out trying to even out the rather staggered exhaustion that jarred her breathing.

The blonde jumped as soft footfalls landed on the forest floor behind her. Every muscle in her body locked as she braced herself for the next moment of agonizing pain. Wondered if she would hear the whistle of the arrow, as people did in old west movies.

"Really Doctor." Val's voice was a tight whisper, as the fae emerged from a bush nearby. "Try to keep moving."

"Yes... you're right." Lauren jumped up, her eyes going to the bow on Val's back as she forced her body to relax hoping the sudden shot of endorphins would calm soon. "Thank you." She said softly and she took off running again as she folded her map away.

Lauren didn't want to think about what would have happened if it had been any other hunter than Val.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after the end of Season Two

Rating: T

**The Stag: Chapter Seven** by The Rainbowwriters

As her game of cat and mouse became more in favour of the cat, Bo was moving through the treeline when she skidded through the underbrush of leaves and turned to investigate something that caught her eye.

In the ground was a large hole, clearly where the earth had given way to expose a deep cave underneath. Looking down into it Bo could see that there was no easy way out of it and seizing on the idea she stripped off her jacket and used it to make it look as if she'd gone into the opening unexpectedly.

As she heard the noise of the approaching Fae gaining ground, she said a quick goodbye to the beloved jacket and dumped it into the cave. She quickly moved off to the side and hid behind a tree in wait.

Damascus came quickly into the small clearing, stopping as she had and having to retrace before he finally made his way to the hole to look down. His nostrils were flared as he bent over further, trying to judge where his quarry had gone and if they had survived the fall.

As he investigated Bo crept out of her place and moved up behind him.

"I apologize if this breaks the rules but no one will know." Bo said to herself as she put up her foot and gave him a single kick in the behind making him go headfirst into the cave below, his muscled arms flailing uselessly in a pinwheel motion as he fell.

Bo didn't even bother to look down, sure that the fall shouldn't have killed the Kapre but now sure at least he was out of the hunt until he could find a way out.

"I have to get to the bell." Bo started off in the direction of the goal.

-x-

Obviously upset and put off her stride by the first barrage of smoke bombs, Capella had moved with more purpose towards a closer but smaller branch of the stream obviously now less concerned with the strength of her power over the forest and its minions, and more concerned with anything she could use to harness what she wanted from her surroundings.

Taking long strides through the underbrush the tall fae seemed to speed up as she picked up on the fact that the vegetation changed from brush to more rushes, reeds and other opportunistic waterside plants.

Raising her hands over her head, Capella released a somewhat triumphant call as she walked through the long tall pampas grass at the bank, the high loud tone making a few birds fly from their hiding places.

A call that changed into a cry of rage as she dropped to her knees into the silt and mud that was once the stream bed. Clutching handfuls of the thick mud before slamming it down over and over, muttering curses as the mixture did not allow her to use her powers.

"You're still only a human." Capella pulled herself up off her knees angrily and tossed her wild hair over her shoulder. "And I am fae, I am superior, I will be victorious." With long strides the dryad began crossing the forest, her pace much faster now was easily better than Lauren's. Not only because of the distance she covered with each stride, but the ease in which she moved through the underbrush.

-x-

"I... I... I'm sorry Bo..." Lauren pressed her head hard against the bark of an Alder tree. She was sweating profusely, her lungs burned, her legs were cramping to the point where she could barely bend her knees. At best she was managing a stumbling jog. "I can't do it." She pushed off from the tree and stumbled as her foot got twisted in a root. Falling forward Lauren's hands ploughed into the dirt and leaves, jarring her shoulders and pushing what little air was in her lungs out of them.

All and all, Lauren had hit her wall and the slim blonde wasn't sure exactly how she was going to get over or through it. Her breathing so loud and raspy, it was only when the toes of two metal covered black boots came into her downward view that she tried to hold it.

"Whoa there Doc."

To Lauren's shock, it was Kenzi's voice that spoke to her and moved to help pull the blonde back up to her feet. "Just breathe." She urged her for a moment, leaning Lauren against the same tree whose root had tripped her.

"Ke... Ken..." Lauren tried to say the younger woman's name as she partially held onto her, she was trying to suck air through her mouth to appease her suicidal lungs. "What are you doing here?" She panted out the question finally.

"Hating running as much as you." Kenzi gave her a half smile, herself having had to fight the forest to accomplish what she had needed to before she'd managed to intercept Lauren. "I... look it's a long explanation but I need you just to trust me okay?" She made sure that Lauren was totally standing on her own before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny yellow metal necklace with central tear shaped green jewel. "I need you to put this on."

"Kenzi it's not safe..." Lauren took a quick look around. "For you to be here and I can't..." She began to object to stopping. "I can't be just be standing here."

"Please doc trust me." Kenzi reached and put the necklace over Lauren's head despite the blonde's panic. "I'm going to try something and if... that is, when it works you need to... well you know the smell of Bo right?" She wiggled her eyebrows and wasn't surprised when the doctor's eyes widened. "You're going to follow that smell you know and like quite a lot, all the way to the bell, okay? When you get there just imagine the amulet falling from your neck, and then ring the bell. Got it?" She reached to clutch the gem as she took out a torn book page from another pocket.

The arm that held the jewel was scarred with the deep orange burns, which had tendrils of lacy orange threads dripped down the back of her hand and her fingers.

"Kenzi, your arm..." Lauren found herself instantly distracted, moving her hand to rest over Kenzi's arm feeling the heat that was coming from the wound.

"Doc please, would you focus," Kenzi's voice was serious as she held out the sheet, but looked at Lauren. "First we have to save you then we can work on my dry skin issue." She held brown eyes with blue ones for a moment. "Really," she paused again, "Lauren, there's still a fairly long way to go, and you're looking slightly rough." she pointed out, "Now I'm not one hundred percent sure I know what I'm doing, and I'm even less sure that it's going to work, but," she smiled at the blonde. "As my old babooshka used to say 'If you don't poke the bear you don't know if it's dead or just sleeping.'"

Lauren looked at Kenzi not really seeing how that particular old anecdote fitted in this scenario.

"I'm poking myself, I get the reference." Kenzi explained more, but only resulted in confusing Lauren a little more.

"Okay Kenzi, but hurry, please." The blonde encouraged her, her voice desperate.

Kenzi nodded quickly and then looked at the sheet in her hand and licking her lips she began reading the old text.

Slowly and painlessly, Lauren's form dropped out of Kenzi's grip. The blonde's human body morphing into a much smaller fuzzy creature with pointy ears and a long fluffy tail. The fox's intelligent eyes looked up at Kenzi, and all four paws were raised one at a time off the ground as if checking that the limbs worked. It then freed itself from the pile of clothing now around it.

"Foxy Lauren, never struck me about the clothes part though." Kenzi looked down at the small critter and bent down, reaching out to touch the red fur, which rewarded her with a shake of the body she rested her hand on. "Run Lauren, run to the bell, follow the scent of Bo." She urged her pointing off in the direction she had come from.

To her relief, the fox did as she instructed. Quickly moving off without any sign of Lauren's lagging strength and endurance, and within a few springs the last thing she saw disappear into the wood was Lauren's fuzzy tail.

"I can't believe that worked, point for Kenzi." She made a little mark in the air and looked into the woods. "Now... which way was back to Trick before Bo kills me?" She tried to orient herself as she picked up Lauren's clothes.

-x-

"Come on Lauren, come on." Bo hid near the clearing to the bell willing the blonde to appear, dreading the idea that she would hear the sound of the horn again to signal a win.

"Where is she?" Dyson's slightly out of breath voice asked as he ran into Bo's hiding place and hid next to her.

"I don't know, don't you know?" Bo turned and asked him surprised.

"I was tracking her but when the first smokers went off I doubled back to check on Capella, and had to follow her because she didn't follow the route we thought she would. I managed to just surprise her with another smoking." He explained with a smirk. "You've seen nothing?" He checked.

"No, nothing... I led Damascus into a cave he won't surface for awhile." Bo admitted looking into the clearing.

"She could have fallen, be injured." Dyson offered with a frown, his instincts wanting him to rush off to find out. "Do you want me to sweep?"

"I don't know." Bo felt her confidence falter.

As the two of them considered their options, neither of them paid any attention to the small fox that raced into the side brush, pausing to survey the clearing to the bell before it took off like a shot. Awkwardly stopping in front of the bell, for a long moment before just as before Lauren's form changed from what she had been to her normal self, be it naked at this point.

Lauren was crouching close to ground, evaluating her options as the cold morning air hit her body in ways the blonde wasn't used too. After all, she still wasn't exactly sure what Kenzi had done to her or how on earth Kenzi had done it. She also didn't understand why Bo hadn't warned her but she figured those were all questions she was going to have to ask later. She just had a necklace clutched in her hand and the bell was within her grasp.

-x-

"Put it down Val." Hale's voice came hotly over his sister's shoulder, as she aimed the arrow at the newly morphed doctor who was still seemingly disoriented from the transition. "There will be other hunts for you."

"But this would mean so much, for the family, for father. Think of the honour. Think of all the good we could do." Val didn't move her bow nor change the aim, the string taut the arrow making tiny shifts as Val tracked each and every one of Lauren's movements.

"She doesn't deserve this, no matter what it would bring, a house built on lies is no house." Hale warned her further.

"She's just a human." Val hissed the tension in her draw hand making it shake slightly.

"Put it down." He warned her again his hand coming up but not yet touching the weapon.

As Val kept the Bow aimed, Lauren reached up and took the heavy looking hammer from the top of the bell hanger down. The Siren's sister steadied her breathing so the arrow would fly true and straight as less than twenty five feet away the blonde pulled her arm back to strike the ancient bell.

-x-

Bo's head instantly came up from where she had been talking to Dyson as the ancient forest was suddenly filled with the loud echoing noise of the bell ringing as Lauren struck it with the hammer, once then twice for good measure.

"Lauren!" Bo moved quickly out of her hiding place and moved over to her. "What... you did it." She held out her hand to Dyson for his jacket, not sure why the blonde was naked.

"Bo." Lauren pitched forward a little her breathing rapid and shallow, the speed and endurance of the fox no longer hers to call on.

"You won, you won." Bo pulled Dyson's coat around Lauren's back to cover her against the elements. "You rung the bell."

"I... I can't really breathe." The blonde admitted as Bo hugged her, enjoying the contact less then usual as she struggled for air.

"Okay, love the reunion but we have to get out of here, Val can stay with her and validate she rang it." Hale came out of the forest, his sister with him the bow over her shoulder harmless now. No one else having to know about her moment of weakness.

Bo frowned hard at the Siren giving him an uneasy look, and even though the blonde had pointed out that she wasn't well, the brunette hadn't released her in the slightest. Bo had decided that moment she was never letting Lauren go again.

The succubus' refusal to let the blonde go proved to be the best thing ever as the next moment there came the barest sound in the air, the hint of a whistle which made Bo look up and twist both herself and the blonde in her arms. Then with a thud both Lauren and Bo twisted off their feet and hit the ground as Hale, Val and Dyson crowded around trying to figure out what had just happened.

Bo rolled and was pushing up on her knees almost as part of the fall, but Lauren stayed flat on her face on the forest floor, the feathered shaft of an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. The sharp tip embedded into the muscle.

"NO!" Bo scrambled through the leaves and branches towards the blonde but Val intercepted her.

"Get out of here." The youngest Santiago shook her head as she pulled Bo backwards. "They're coming to officially announce the result of the hunt, if they find you here they will rule it null and void." She spoke quickly trying to make Bo stop fighting her, which the brunette did slowly. "Go." She underlined again looking at Dyson to help her. "What the Dryad has done not only breaks every rule of the hunt, but it also breaks every rule of the fae, but if you're here none of that will matter and everything you've done will be worth nothing." She looked at the brunette who had finally pushed up onto her feet.

"I'm not leaving her." Bo moved right back to the fallen doctor, and pulled Lauren onto her lap, pressing her hand over the pooling blood.

"Bo, we have to leave." Dyson pulled at her arm, his voice serious.

"Bo-Bo time to leave." Kenzi suddenly ran in from somewhere behind the bell almost stumbling when she saw Lauren in Bo's lap. "What the hell? I heard the bell. She rang the bell."

"We have to go." It was Hale that made the point this time, and there was almost an edge of panic to his voice.

"Bo..." Weak and clearly in intense pain, it was Lauren's voice that finally spoke. "I will see you soon." She tried to make it easier for the brunette to leave her, despite the numbing pain down her left arm as she turned to look at Bo as best as she could.

"Call me the instant I can come and get her, see her, anything." Bo looked at Val.

"Go." Val moved down to help the blonde urging Bo to leave as the blonde was transferred into the other woman's arms. Hurrying everyone off, Dyson could smell that the officials of the Hunt were only moments behind them.

-x-

As everyone sat silently at the Dal, nursing their second drink as they waited, it was Hale who finally had to ask the important question that was confusing his brain.

"Okay, I know we're all worried but can someone explain when in the plan we found a witch to transmute her?" The Siren poised the question making his coaster spin on its end.

Bo who hadn't really seemed to be listening to anything looked up at the Siren's words.

"What?" She asked of Hale. "We didn't."

"Um..." Kenzi moved her beer away from her mouth, having to lick foam off her lips. "Maybe I um... did the spell." She spoke the words into the amber liquid.

"What?" The succubus repeated. "Kenzi." She lowered her voice a little. "How?" She whispered.

"I ran through the woods, in these boots mind you." Kenzi pointed to her inappropriate footwear. "Stuck the necklace on Lauren, read the spell and poof she was a fox. I had made a scent trail to the bell for her with your undies." She winked at Bo.

"My underwear?" Bo blinked at her and all three men at the bar snorted into their drinks.

"I had to improvise." Kenzi gave her an innocent look. "Look I just... okay you're going to think I'm crazy but... the raccoon in my dream told me I could do it."

"The one with the waistcoat and the sunglasses?" Bo checked she was hearing this right. After all when Kenzi had just been there suddenly by the bell, Bo had assumed the younger woman had been unable to stay put and come directly there from the mansion where she should have been waiting for the announcements with Trick.

"Yeah." Kenzi had to admit knowing that fact made it all sound more ridiculous. "He told me I could do it, if I tried." She pulled up her sleeve. "Only made it burn a little bit more."

"Kenzi!" Bo grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled the sleeve higher, frowning hard at the newly blistering and destroyed skin that reached a lot higher up her arm than it had before. "What happened to slowing this down and doing everything we could to look after you."

"It came in a close second to helping Lauren." Kenzi looked at her best friend with a soft frown. "I didn't accelerate into anything, I just... well I have access to more juice then we all thought." She shrugged. "She got to the bell, despite the murderous dryad. I hope they make that bitch the next stag."

"Okay but for the record next time a possibly rabid well dressed animal of the forest has a chat with you, talk to me before doing what it tells you." Bo asked of her best friend smiling but shaking her head at Kenzi's impulsiveness.

"If the option was you going blue or me going orange, you know I'm going to protect you babe." Kenzi smiled at her, clearly not regretting her actions. "Though could you protect me from the witch whose book I pulled a page out of."

"You pulled a page out of an ancient witch's magical book? Kenzi what did I say about stealing from her." Bo hissed still shaking her head.

"I didn't steal, I have every intention of putting it back, I just borrowed it." Kenzi pointed out and was about to say more when the door to the bar pulled open.

Helped through by Val, Lauren was now dressed in a simple set of scrubs and her left arm was clearly bandaged and in a sling.

"As promised." Val saw all the faces turn to them, knowing the blonde was the one everyone was most anxious to see.

"Lauren." Bo was off her stool and raced across the bar to the blonde, hesitating from hugging her in case she hurt her. "Are you all right?" She checked as Val moved to get a beer near the boys.

"Better than I will be in the morning." Lauren admitted with a half smile keeping the slight distance that the brunette had initiated.

"What happened at the compound?" Bo asked her seriously.

"We were all taken back to the mansion, I was proclaimed the winner of the hunt, given a full pardon, the dryad was taken into custody and then I was sent to the lab to be patched up." She smiled a little more. "I even got painkillers." She waved the small pill bottle in her 'good' hand.

"Which means I should take you home." Bo continued to look at the blonde not able to believe that 'faith' of all things had gotten them through. "Kenz, you are coming too, you need rest."

"Bo I didn't want to presume..." Lauren shook her head slightly, looking back to where everyone at the bar seemed to be making small talk to avoid paying attention to them.

"Lauren..." Bo just said the blonde's name with the timbre that explained no question was necessary as Kenzi pulled up beside them. Usually she would have disagreed with leaving free celebration beer, but she knew after her spell stunt she needed to stay on Bo's good side.

-x-

Bo fluffed the pillow before she helped Lauren lean back. If there was one thing the oversized four poster bed was good for it was bed rest, and bed rest was clearly what Lauren was going to need for a few days at least.

On the car ride things had been quiet. Kenzi had laid out in the backseat, while Lauren rode up front with Bo. The young woman was pleased when not far into the drive, Bo had reached out with her hand and put in on Lauren's leg. The smile the blonde had given in return the sole reason that as soon as they'd gotten home she'd disappeared into the room feigning tiredness.

"You're free." Bo finally spoke the words that had been sitting on her lips since the Dal as she settled on the side of the bed near the blonde's hip.

"Yes." Lauren actually smiled as she let herself relax against the support of the pillows. "Thank you." She reached over with her good hand to rest it on Bo's leg.

"To be honest, your distractions did a lot of the work... well other than what Kenzi did but that's a long story that both of us need to get from her sometime sooner rather than later." Bo admitted gently, putting her hand over Lauren's. "The only thing important right this moment though is letting you heal."

"I just need a day, maybe less." Lauren shook her head bravely. "So happy they didn't put poison on them now." She added with a half smile.

"Leaving you in the woods was so hard." Bo whispered as she reached up with her hand cupping Lauren's cheek, moving closer to her.

"You don't have to leave now." Lauren whispered back feeling the intensity of the attraction between them amplified by the last few hours. "But I understand if you have something else to do. It is still early."

"I'm not going anywhere." Bo shook her head moving close enough to almost kiss her. "I was so worried." She finally let her soft lips press to Lauren's.

Lauren felt her eyes close in the gentle kiss, her body relaxing a little more as Bo lips touched hers, reminding her that she was alive and free.

"I didn't think I was going to make it." The blonde was honest as she pulled back just enough to whisper. "Didn't think that this..." She paused to kiss Bo briefly. "Would ever happen again."

"You did make it, because you're strong, and smart and you have people who love you." Bo underlined to her. "People like me."

"I warn you now, tomorrow I will probably be completely useless." Lauren explained with a pained half smile. "Every muscle I have will hurt and my lungs will burn so much I probably will just want to curl in a ball, not move and take many painkillers."

"Then I'll have to bring you drinks and food in bed. I'll have to get my nurse outfit out of storage too." Bo teased her softly, seeing how Lauren was trying to reassure herself that she was really wanted in the club house. "You're not moving anywhere, neither is Kenzi, and I will be here to take care of you both." She let her eyes trace over Lauren's face again. "I plan on doing it for a long time."

"Don't say things a medicated patient could get used to." Lauren's response came in a whisper.

"Lauren, I know now isn't the perfect time, and you're not feeling well..." Bo spoke back to her gently. "But... all of this craziness has made me realize something... I don't want to lose you Lauren, to be apart from you again. I know we dance around this, that we dance because of me but I... I love you."

"Bo I..." Lauren swallowed for a second and then licked her lips looking into Bo's eyes. "In case you didn't know, I love you too." She smiled slightly. "And I am very tired and I don't feel well, not to mention being heavily medication and promise me we will talk about this when all of those things aren't a fact." She squeezed her hand over Bo's

"I promise." Bo nodded feeling such contentment from her answer. "For now, rest, I'm going to be right here." She smiled again softly.

"If I wake up and you're not there, I'll be upset." The blonde teased, truly feeling the effects of her ordeal.

"You won't." Bo assured her moving up onto the bed and pulling the blonde carefully to rest against her "I get good ratings as a pillow."

"I remember." Lauren moved instantly over to rest against Bo's chest, groaning lightly in pain at the shift it caused in her arm. "I'm free." She nuzzled her head into a comfortable position against Bo.

"You are Lauren and I won't let anyone try to cage you again." Bo vowed looking out into the room with distracted eyes as a flash of blue went across them.

**The End**

**And there you have it, thank you so much for reading and for reviewing, feedback make us smile :)**


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